Insurance and Credit

The current economic conditions are causing loads of people to battle with low credit scores and bad credit reports. With the problems that the banks are having and other economic disasters the rules of the past are becoming obsolete and many people do not know what to do about credit difficulties and bad credit.

Not many people realize just what a credit score is composed of. For instance it is not public knowledge that your credit score can be reduced by inquiries on your account and by your debt to credit ratio. The reality is that you are considered to be riskier if it looks as if you are shopping for credit so inquiries reduce your score and if you have credit and use it you are also considered a higher risk. In order to have a high credit score you need to decrease your debt to less than about 15 to 35% of the credit you have available and no more.

Under the FCRA or the Fair Credit Reporting Act you do have the right to receive one free copy each year of your own credit report from each of the major credit reporting agencies. It is wise to get this report each year so you can track your report and make sure that it is looks as positive as possible.

The fact is that it is estimated that as many as 75% or more of credit reports contain mistakes and inaccuracies. These mistakes and inaccuracies can cause you great problems if they arise when you are trying to get credit. If you get your report each year and make sure that it is correct and accurate you should be able to avoid many of these problems.

The FCRA has also given you a right as a consumer to dispute mistakes and inaccuracies and get them removed from your report. After a dispute is issued the credit bureaus have 30 to 45 days to show that the information they are reporting is accurate. If it is not verified within the time frame it must be deleted from the report. As many as 45% of all the disputes that are received are not verified within the time frame and a sharp consumer can take advantage of that fact.

There are also other things that you can do to better your credit score and credit rating. Because the debt to credit ratio is so important you can get your credit limits increased or you can pay down your balances so that your debt does not exceed 15 to 35% or your available credit. You should also absolutely avoid any inquiries into your credit. If you must shop for credit be very selective and only shop where you know you will get the credit and then have the creditor combine the inquiry into the loan reporting. That way you will not be showing inquiries.

You can do the work necessary to repair your credit on your own or you can utilize a professional that specializes in credit repair. Either way can be quite effective but if you decide to take on a professional just make sure that it is a respectable company with a good track record. Unfortunately there are some scammers out there so do your homework and find a reliable company that has been around long-term.

But don’t think that credit repair in only a myth because it is not. Congress passed the FCRA so that discrepancies and problems could be removed from credit reports and you need to make sure that your own credit report looks as good as feasible.

Many consumers have no notion what a credit score is comprised of. What are they measuring and how does this number relate to my creditworthiness? While common sense tells us that paying our bills promptly is an eminent factor what else is central when it comes to credit scores?

A credit score is a numerical rating that takes into consideration certain statistics and compiles that information into a number that represents a consumer’s creditworthiness. The higher the score the better credit risk the consumer is deemed to be. Scores above 700 are thought to be excellent while scores below 600 are poor.

Different to accepted belief, credit scores can change frequently. There are a assortment of factors that are involved in the scoring and these factors modify often. You may have always been on time with your payments yet other factors can bring down your credit score. Different types of credit are scored differently and having too many inquiries on your report can also be disadvantageous.

Here is a breakdown percentage of the factors that influence your credit score: 35% is based upon your reliability and payment record. Only payments more than 30 days past due are counted negatively. 30% is attributed to your ratio of debt, meaning your amount of debt compared to the credit you have obtainable. 15% is for the length of your credit history. 10% is the types of credit used. For example, installment, revolving, consumer finance. Be alert that consumer finance accounts are considered a negative. And the last 10% is recent searches for credit and/or the amount of credit obtained of late.

Being attentive of these factors is the initial step in improving your credit score. Use this knowledge to your gain. Make your payments on time and never charge more than 35% of your available credit. Make sure you continually keep at least 65% of your existing credit on hand. Stay away from department store credit and consumer finance credit and make sure that you are guarded about letting anyone verify your credit. Never get your credit checked unless you have to.

You can enhance your credit scores and repair your credit. There are professionals that focus in credit repair or you can do it yourself but be aware that you have the right to dispute negative credit and negative credit scores.

Don’t fight with low credit scores any longer. Get educated and take action to raise your scores and repair your credit.

This is one of my most favorite articles that I have written because it addresses so many questions that people have about credit. I love watching the eyes of my clients widen when they find out the truth about some of these most common myths.

A word of warning before we get started You are about to hear some things that will most likely be the exact opposite of what you have been told. Keep in mind that credit issues are some of the most misunderstood of all financial topics, and there are many professionals in the financial industry giving advice to their clients, who do not really understand credit themselves. On that note, here are the greatest myths about credit

Myth 1: Settling or paying off tax liens, collections, late payments or judgments will erase them from your credit reports.

This is simply not true. In fact, by paying off an old collection account, you can actually lower your credit scores. The reason for this is because more recent negative items will hurt your score more than older negative items. If you pay off an old collection account, not only will the collection account remain on your reports as a paid collection, but it will now show a current date, and cost your more points. I am not suggesting that you should not pay off your delinquent accounts, only that you need to understand the consequences so that you can factor that into your decision.

Myth 2: Paying my credit card balances in full every month will improve my credit.

Keep in mind that the credit system is designed by the creditors, to help them determine if you are a good credit risk, and if you are an optimal credit user (one who uses the system in such a way that it will generate revenue for the creditors). By paying off your accounts every month, you are not establishing a history of optimal credit usage. What your creditors want to see, is someone who pays slightly more than their minimum monthly payment every month, on time, with only occasional balance pay-downs. This behavior will optimize your credit scores.

Myth 3: Repairing credit is illegal.

Very false! Credit repair is not only perfectly legal; it is actually protected by federal law. For more information on the law, you can refer to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). It is legal for you to repair your own credit, as well as hire anyone you choose to do it on your behalf.

Myth 4: Credit Counseling (CCCS) programs will raise my credit scores.

Credit counseling programs do not help you increase your credit scores. In fact, they will usually harm your credit in a couple of ways. First of all, when you enroll into a credit counseling program, your creditors will insert a line on your credit reports for each account included in the program that states you are in credit counseling. This looks very bad to lenders that you may be applying for loans with. Also, in most cases, credit counseling programs will make your payments to your creditors late. This will result in additional late pays on your credit reports.

Myth 5: Negative items have to stay on my credit for 7 years because that is the law.

Completely false! There is no such law.

Myth 6: Making a lot of money will give you good credit.

Actually, your credit scores are made up of several factors such as payment history, account balances, types of credit in use, etc. Your income is not one of those factors that determine your credit scores.

Myth 7: As long as I have never been late on a payment, I will have great credit.

Your timeliness of payments does make up 35% of your credit scores, but the other 65% is made up of other factors that are not related to making your payments on time. It is important to understand all those factors to maximize your scores.

Myth 8: Your credit report from each credit bureau will be the same.

This is not true. In fact, most of the time, all 3 of your credit reports will differ from one another. The reason for this is that each of the credit bureaus is a separate independent company, and the processes at each are different. Also, some creditors may only report to 1 or 2 bureaus, but not all 3. In my experience, your reports will very rarely be exactly the same.

Myth 9: If you are married, you will share the same credit reports as your spouse.

This is not true at all. Even if you are married, you will still have your own unique credit reports. It is possible to see some shared items if you have joint accounts, but your credit reports are yours.

Myth 10: If I close my old credit accounts, my scores will increase.

This is often a huge surprise for many. When you close old accounts, your scores will often drop substantially, sometimes by more than 100 points. Often a lender will ask you to close some old accounts to qualify for a loan, but once the accounts are closed, your scores may actually prohibit you from qualifying. This is good knowledge for to know so you understand the impact of this decision. Old good standing accounts carry more positive weight on your credit scores than newer accounts. When you open new credit, you may also see a temporary drop in scores until those accounts have seasoned (usually 6-12 months).

Armed with this new knowledge, you can now get started putting it into action to improve your credit, as well as share it with others.