Tips for boosting your credit score

Tips for boosting your credit score

If you're thinking about buying a house or a car, your credit score is a very important number.

The interest rate you'll pay for the money you borrow will be determined, in large part, by this three-digit number that's generated from the information in your credit report.

Most lenders have carved-in-stone rules about handing out the best terms, and those rules almost always place a major emphasis on your credit score. If their best rates are offered to borrowers with a score of 700 or higher and yours is a 698, those two points could cost you thousands of dollars.

According to MyFICO.com, the consumer website of popular scoring model FICO, the interest rate difference between those two scores is about one-third of a percentage point.

On a $165,000 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, that difference could cost you more than $13,378 in interest charges, assuming a 4.5 percent interest rate with a 700 credit score and a 4.875 percent rate on a 698 score. Fall below a 660 and the rate goes up even more, if you can even get approved for a mortgage at all.

Keep in mind that these are averages. Most lenders today practice tiered pricing, with interest rates rising as scores go down. Each lender chooses its own "break points" between tiers. Lender A may bump up the interest rate if a score falls below 700, while Lender B doesn't charge higher rates until the score is 690 or below. So if you stick with one lender, and that lender's break point is 700, raising your score from 698 to 701 can be vital.

This underscores the importance of not only doing all you can to improve your score, but shopping thoroughly when looking for a mortgage. From the perspective of a mortgage broker, who can choose among a sea of many lenders, there are no sharp break points. Consumers should do what a good broker does -- look for a lender that offers the best rate for a specific score.

But that's jumping ahead of ourselves. First things first: You can take steps to improve your credit score. The number of variables that play into an individual score make it impossible to say that one particular action will increase a given score by a certain number of points. But there are some good guidelines.

"The key to having the best FICO score possible is following three rules," says Jeffrey Scott, spokesman for FICO. "Pay all your bills on time, every time, keep your credit card balances low and only open new credit when you need it."

Speedy upgrade

That's good advice, to be sure, but these actions take a long time. What if you're house hunting and you just need a few extra points to bump you over the line to the great rates?

Start by pulling your credit report and your FICO score to see where you are. To get an estimate of your credit score, check out our Credit Score Estimator. If your score is above a 760, you're golden. Improving your score from 760 to 800 won't get you better terms

3 Quick Business Credit Report Red Flags to Avoid Bad Debt

3 Quick Business Credit Report Red Flags to Avoid Bad Debt

Extending credit is a requirement of doing business today. This necessity unfortunately opens you up to credit risk and the potential for bad debt.

While you may not avoid all credit risk, credit managers are able to greatly reduce their likelihood of a collection account or bad debt by pulling a business credit report.

Good credit managers are able to read a credit report to understand how a company has historically paid their bills. Great credit managers are able to use a company's credit report to predict how they can expect to be paid.

Within the report, are red flags that these great credit managers look for to avoid bad debt.

The 3 Bad Debt Red Flags on a Business Credit Report

Knowing how to read a business credit report is a requirement of any good business credit professional. It is the great ones that are able to use a report to avoid the likelihood of bad debt.

Here are 3 red flags that they look for to reduce their credit risk.

1) Low Business Credit Score

Business credit scores give you an idea of a company's risk potential. Each business credit bureau has their own scoring system, but the scores are usually calculated based on factors in the following four areas:

1. Payment history


2. Current level of indebtedness


3. Current level of delinquencies


4. Length of credit history

Each bureau will tell you what range of scores they consider high risk. On an Ansonia Business Credit Report, a risk score of 70 or lower is considered high risk.

A low score is not cause to deny a company credit on its own; use your judgment here. If the company has a low business credit score and other adverse information on their report (such as flags #2 and #3 below), you are probably better off working with them on cash terms.

2) Credit Alerts

Credit alerts are never a good sign. Ansonia's are displayed in bright red, hoping to literally "alert" our customers of the adverse information.

The severity of the credit alert can range greatly, from a bankruptcy to a slow pay.

While this is not a hard and fast rule, alerts can be grouped into two categories: approach with caution and approach with EXTREME caution (creative right?)

Approach with caution

• On cash terms


• Slow pay


• Phone disconnected


• Returned check

These are often early warning signs. For example, if a company is starting to have cash flow issues, you might see a "slow pay" or "on cash terms".

It is important to note that alerts in this category can sometimes be explained:

Slow pay - possibly a billing error

Phone disconnected - the company just moved offices

Regardless, approach these with caution; an alert is still an alert.

Approach with EXTREME caution

• Bankruptcy filed


• Fraud account


• Credit revoked


• Judgment filed


• Write-off


• Collection Account

Can you imagine if your company had one of the above alerts posted on your company credit report? These are big, bright, flashing red flags. They almost always indicate that a company is in trouble.

If one of the above alerts is present, cash terms are recommended over extending a credit line.

Credit alerts are never good. Regardless of its severity, an alert is always cause for further investigation. They are the cause of a lot of bad debt and write offs. When you see one, be careful.

See a full list of Ansonia's credit alerts here.

3) Increasing Days to Pay and an Abnormal Number of Credit Inquiries

One of the best early warning signs on a company's credit report is an increasing number in a company's days to pay. This increase is especially worrisome if it is coupled with an abnormal number of credit inquiries (the number of times a business credit report has been pulled).

What is an abnormal number? Look for a trend here. For example, a company has consistently had 4 inquiries on their credit report, and in the most recent two months has had 12 inquiries.

The combination can often signify that the company is in trouble. It often means that they are having trouble paying their current creditors (increase in days to pay) and are out looking for new creditors (abnormal number of credit inquiries).

Pulling a business credit report before extending a credit line can drastically decrease your credit risk. There are many things to consider on a report and these three are some of the worst in terms of risk potential. Avoid them and you can greatly reduce your chances of taking on bad debt.

How Credit Reports Works

How Credit Reports Works

Build My Scores utilizes a multiple phase audit process to have the inaccurate items removed from your credit reports. There are Federal and State laws in place to protect the consumer from inaccurate and unverifiable credit reporting. We assist you in enforcing these laws by implementing our strategy.

Credit Repair Services

1. Thorough research and investigation of credit and collection agencies information, inquires, public records, and source of information.


2. Carefully audit the Credit bureaus; Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion


3. Reinvestigate the credit bureaus and ask for method of their investigation.


4. Validation of Debt Audits, demanding creditors/collection companies produce original documentation.


5. Revised Validation of Debt to the collection agencies as needed.


6. Offer of Performance Audits to the collection agencies.


7. Omission by Silence packets back to Bureaus supplying all audits to the collection agencies/ creditors and failure to comply.


8. Estoppel letters and FTC complaints to those who do not comply with audits.


9. We utilize Delivery Confirmation mail when auditing the creditors and collection agencies to create a paper trail of documented proof.

We don’t just write letters or dispute online with the credit bureaus. We do validations of debt and audit the creditors directly. We professionally audit the creditors and collection agencies using over 400 different custom letters. We continue to create new custom letters. We don’t use form letters like most credit repair companies. We tailor it to your needs. Our intense audit demands validation and verification of derogatory information using the:

1. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act


2. Fair Credit Reporting Act


3. Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act


4. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

These four Federal laws have been established to protect consumers’ credit reports. Creditors and credit bureaus are legally obligated to produce documented evidence within a reasonable amount of time, generally 30 days, to prove the information they are reporting. If they cannot validate their claims, they must promptly remove any undocumented information from the consumer’s credit report.

Source

Contact Us Today To Fix Your Credit Score!

Self Credit Repair

Self Credit Repair

Do you check your credit reports regularly? Credit reports are your credit references, as reported by your lenders. And, unfortunately, some lenders may accidentally report inaccurate information about your payment history. This is why it’s important for everyone to monitor their credit reports regularly and to dispute any information that is inaccurate. Today we wanted to show you a complete guide to do-it-yourself credit repair.

If you ever need to fix your credit report, here are the steps to take (and online apps you need) to get your credit report updated quickly – without paying hundreds or thousands of dollars to “credit repair” clinics.

Step 1: Request your free credit report from each credit bureau

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) entitles you to one free credit report each year from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion and you can get this through AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228.

In addition, you may request a free report directly from the credit reporting companies in certain circumstances. “Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumers who receive public assistance, are unemployed (and seeking employment), or believe their credit report contains fraudulent data, are also entitled to a free report,” says Maxine Sweet, Vice President of Public Education at Experian.

CREDIT TIP: You can keep a close eye on the credit activity that is being reported for you simply by requesting a free credit report every four months. For example, get your Experian Report in January, Equifax in May, and TransUnion in September.

Step 2: Audit your credit reports carefully

“Remember that credit report information comes from the companies who have accounts with you. The goal is not just to fix your credit report, but to make sure that your information is correct with the source so that it will be reported correctly to everyone who checks your credit references. Reviewing your credit report can help you discover and resolve those inaccuracies,” says Sweet.

Each credit report differs in how information is presented, but here’s a breakdown of what you’ll typically find:

• Personal  Identification (addresses, employment history, name, social security number)


• Types of Accounts (revolving, installment, loans, joint accounts, credit limits, debts)


• Collections (if any accounts went to collections)


• Public Records (about  financial obligations)


• Consumer Statement (such as a statement of dispute if you do not agree with your lender about the status of your account)


• Hard Credit Inquiries (showing you applied for new credit or services)


• Soft Credit Inquiries (showing requests made by lenders who sent you an offer or that you requested your own report — soft inquiries are shown only to you)

Here’s a sample credit report [pdf] from Experian explaining the different parts of your report:

As you audit your credit report, pay close attention to these areas:

Missed Payments
Your payment history makes up the biggest part of your credit scores, so any past-due amounts or late payments will damage your scores (especially missed mortgage payments). If you have any missed payments on your report that are incorrect, make sure to dispute the inaccuracy because it can make a big impact on your scores. You may need to talk to your lender to find out why your records do not agree about the payment.

Length of Time Using Credit (Depth of Credit)
Many people don’t realize that older credit accounts with good credit history actually help you. It shows you have managed credit well for a significant amount of time. Consider the pros of cons before you close any accounts (if they are tempting you to overspend).

The Variety of Accounts
Having a mix of different credit accounts can help you because it shows you know how to manage different types of credit. Managing a car loan with a fixed monthly payment is very different from managing a credit card where you control the amount you owe and pay each month.

Recent Credit Accounts
If you’ve recently taken out a loan or credit card, you’ll want to make sure it’s appearing on your credit report. New credit accounts can signal risk (and could lower your scores at first), but the added credit mix and consistent payment history will likely improve your scores over time.

Amount of Credit
It’s important to make sure you’re using less than 30% of your available credit on revolving credit accounts. For example, if you have a $10,000 credit limit on a credit card – you never want to carry a balance over $3,000 because it can hurt your credit scores. The lower, the better. 

So while auditing your credit report, make sure the credit limit assigned on your revolving accounts are accurate – and the amount owed is under 30% of your credit limit. If not, consider requesting a higher credit limit on that credit card to lower your utilization rate. Even better, pay down your balances so that you are only charging what you can pay in full each month.

CREDIT TIP: If you notice any fraud, you can set a fraud alert right away which cautions lenders to verify your identity before opening any new credit accounts. It’s simple to set-up fraud alerts by using  these  direct links to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. “You can also freeze your credit reports for a small fee to prevent new creditors from accessing your report. However, freezing your credit reports means you will have to temporarily unfreeze them when you need services, which can be inconvenient,” says Sweet.

Step 3: Dispute incorrect data

There is no cost to dispute any items on your credit report. And you can dispute incorrect information in a variety of ways. Always start with a current copy of your credit report. Then, you can call the phone number on your credit report or use one of the following online apps from one of the following credit bureaus:

Screenshot of the Experian Credit Dispute App

Screenshot of the Equifax Credit Dispute App

Screenshot of the TransUnion Credit Dispute App

“In most cases, you only need to ask one credit bureau to dispute an account on your behalf .. If your lender responds to a disputed item with a correction, they are required to report that corrected information to any credit reporting company to which they provide their data,” according to Sweet.

Some people think that disputing information on your credit report can hurt your credit scores, but that is not true. Disputes are not reported in your history and are not scored.  Disputing inaccurate information is exactly what you should do to help ensure your credit history is correct.  Another myth is that disputing information you believe is inaccurate will cause info to remain longer on your credit. Information is deleted based on the dates of missed payments or when the account was closed, for example.

CREDIT TIP: If you cannot resolve a disputed item with your lender, you may add a “Statement of Dispute” to your credit report explaining  why the information is incorrect. The statement you write must be under 100 words, and should address why the info the lender is reporting is incorrect. For example, “Never missed any payments with [Lender Name].”  This statement will remain on your report for two years and visible to anyone who has permission to review your report.

Step 4: Wait 30 days for removal or response from creditor

When you dispute an item on your report, the credit bureau will contact the creditor to respond to the dispute. If no response is received within 30-45 days, the credit bureau will remove the account or correct the negative information and notify you of the results.  “If you disagree with the results, you may need to contact the creditor directly and provide additional documentation if your records do not agree with theirs,” says Sweet.

CREDIT TIP: If you need additional help with debt or your credit, avoid going to a “credit repair clinic,” which could cost you hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars. Instead, seek out an accredited non-profit credit counseling agency. And, if you know of a great non-profit credit counseling agency, please share in the comments.

Step 5: Request a new credit report from each credit agency

After an item is corrected with one credit reporting company, wait three or four weeks before requesting a fresh credit report from the other credit bureaus. You want to give the creditor some time to report the corrected data. Getting a fresh report will ensure that the item has been removed or updated. You may also choose to purchase a  credit score to see if your risk level has improved.