Posts Tagged ‘damaged credit score’
Credit Scores – Damaged Credit Score Quick Fixes
Posted by: admin in Free Credit Reports on March 30th, 2009
Improving your credit score takes time and effort. Damaging it, or ruining it altogether is easier than you might think. All it takes is a slip-up here, a late payment there, and then your credit score is damaged. It doesn’t take much to hurt your credit, either. And, if you’ve made more than your share of credit mistakes, you won’t have many options the next time you are in the market for a loan or a credit card. You’ll pay the price for your misadventures, in the form of high interest rates and exorbitant fees.
The easiest way to hurt your credit is to break any or all of the rules that are important to lenders and creditors, which we’ll go over in detail here.
- Being late with bill payments. One third of your FICO score is based on your bill-paying track record. It’s been said that a payment that’s 90 days late is just as bad as filing for bankruptcy, or a repossession. However, sometimes in life things go wrong and maybe you aren’t able to get that payment out on time.
Most lenders will work with you to a point, and they are usually willing to let an “oops” here and there go. Just try to bring the account current as soon as you can, and don’t skip payments. If you can only afford to pay the minimum, do that. It’s better than doing nothing at all!
If you know ahead of time that you won’t be able to pay on schedule, call your lender and explain your situation. Hopefully, they’ll be understanding and give you a little “wiggle room”. It doesn’t always work, but if you’ve had a history of on-time payments for years, it can go a long way.
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Ten Things That Damage Your Credit Score
Posted by: admin in Free Credit Reports on March 21st, 2009
Your credit score is very important. That three-digit number could decide whether or not you get a house, a car, or sometimes even a job. It’s how potential lenders decide whether or not you’d be credit-worthy. Here, you’ll find out a few things that will negatively influence your score, and what you can do to prevent them.
Always, always try to pay your bills on time. 35% of your FICO score is your bill payment history, and consistently being late with payments will bring your score down. The only thing that’s worse than paying late, is not paying at all. Not paying on time will also result in late fees and other assessments by your credit card company. Paying on time, month after month, will not only keep your score from declining, but may improve it. Not paying for months on end will probably result in your account being charged off, and possibly sent to a collection agency.
Having an account sent to collections is very damaging to your credit score, and also to your future chances of getting credit, because it shows lenders and credit card companies that you don’t fulfill your end of the contract. Paying your bills on time will save a lot of money and stress in the future.
If the debt is unmanageable, it might be time to speak with a DuPage Bankruptcy Attorney.
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