Despite the number of adverts on TV and the internet, you do not need a credit specialist to improve your credit score. You can do it yourself if you have a little patience, time and perseverance. All you have to do is a few things when thinking about how to improve credit score ratings quickly and easily.
Here’s what I did to improve or repair my credit score:
1) Obtain your credit report from each of the three credit agencies. Experian, Equifax and Transunion are obliged by law to give you one free credit report every year. This will not contain your credit score but it is enough for our purposes.
2) Review every piece of information registered against you. You need to check that all the details are valid including your name, address, age, amount of credit outstanding, interest rate etc.
3) Don’t assume that because one credit report is correct, the others will be as well. Mistakes happen and often they can cost you points in your score. You would think that financial institutions would be more careful but I found mistakes in my file and correcting them improved my credit score.
4) If you find a mistake you need to alert the credit agency. They will then contact the financial institution who made the report and ask them to clarify the situation. Sometimes banks or Credit Card Companies don’t respond so the credit agency will remove the record and this can increase your score.
5) Don’t be tempted to report a true entry as a mistake as this is fraud and can land you in hot water with the authorities. You may think you have problems with a low credit score but it is nothing to what you have if you fall foul of the Federal government.
6) Once you are happy all information is correct you can then start looking at every entry to see what you can do about the standing of the account. For example if you have credit cards with high debit balances, can you repay some of the debt? While companies like to see you have credit, they don’t want to see that your limits are maxed out. If you have missed payments, do your best to pay these back so the account is brought up to date.
7) Try to never miss a payment on any bill or credit card as that will have a bad effect on your score.
8) If you run into financial difficulties and have problems meeting your bills get help from a recognized charity as soon as you can. Don’t put your head in the sand thinking it will go away. It won’t and the situation will get worse. Never agree to changing an unsecured debt like a credit card debt into one secured on your home.
9) If you are trying to get lower interest rates on your existing credit, ask your current lender first before going elsewhere. If you have maintained your account properly they may just say yes. The lower the interest you are paying, the more money goes towards repaying your debts. You have more chance of low interest rates if you have a better than 600 credit score.
10) Never borrow money for anything other than absolute necessities. A new outfit or pair of shoes is rarely a necessity and you will be paying the credit back long after you have decided you are bored with the clothes.
Hopefully these tips have given you some idea on how to improve your financial situation, as they helped me improve my credit score substaintially. If you apply them you shouldn’t be one of the many asking for help with credit card debt. In fact you may be able to help your friends and family survive this economic climate with their finances intact.