My Credit Score Free

Posted on March 8, 2012 by dj

Chris asks…

How can i get a free credit score without a fee or report?

I ALREADY HAVE A CREDIT REPORT I NEED MY SCORE

dj answers:

1) It is a myth that if you look at your credit report by directly contacting the 3 credit bureaus it will decrease your credit (FICO) score. Please NOTE: if you purchase the right to view your credit report from a third party -- that may lower your score -- however, if you contact TransUnion, Experian, or Equifax directly for your credit report -- no impact on your FICO score.
2) You can not get a free credit score (without some type of purchase). You are entitled to at least one free credit report annually from each bureau per the Fair Credit and Reporting Act passed by Congress -- depending on the state you reside in, you may be entitled to more than one report annually from each bureau. It is customary practice, however, for the consumer to pay for the credit score as no law mandates that the bureaus provide that information as a free service. I just paid $6 for mine from Experian directly.

Ruth asks…

How do I get my, Free credit score no attachments,without the runaround?

dj answers:

You can't get your credit score for free, only the credit report. The bureaus charge for the score. The only way I know to get a free score is to ask a mortgage loan officer to pull your credit for you.

Woof.

Mark asks…

really free credit score?

tring to get my credit scores free

dj answers:

Yes, Try these two sites:

http://www.creditkarma.com

http://www.quizzle.com

No charge, FREEEEEE

David asks…

where to get free credit score?

cant get a credit card or anything. where is a site where I can truly get my free credit score.

dj answers:

I don't know of any website that you can get your credit score for free. The majority of them will give you a short trial period and then charge you. For example, free credit score.com and you have to read the fine print. I order my credit score from there and ended up being charge about $50 for not reading the fine print. So the majority of the time you will have to pay to get your credit score. You can go to annual credit report and get you credit report for free. They allow you to do this annually for free.

If you are having a hard time getting a credit card, you can google "credit cards for bad credit" and a lot of times these cards can help you get back on track. You will probably get between $300-$500 credit approved, but you will have an annual fee to pay, which is broke down over the year. So you would pay between $3 and $5.

Hope this helps.

Susan asks…

How can I get a free credit SCORE?

I have my CREDIT REPORT already

dj answers:

The problem with credit monitoring companies, the scores are not accurate. Go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com and buy your scores directly from the reporting bureaus.

My Credit Report

Posted on March 7, 2012 by dj

Lizzie asks…

Which credit reporting agency is best for the credit report?

I know that i can get my free credit report once a year, but there are like 3 reporting agencies to chose from. Which of those agencies is most accurate, and gives out the most info? I want one, to show all the negatives thing i might have in order for me to fix them, if there are any.

dj answers:

The problem is that not all creditors report to all three bureaus and not all lenders use the same report. Some information will show up on some reports and not others. Get all three FICO scores and credit reports -- but make sure you don't go to the individual credit bureaus to get your scores. They each use something called a credit score, but they use different formulas to achieve a number. What you need is a FICO score -- which you can only get from the Fair Isaac Corporation, a company based in California. FICO, put simply, is a persons credit score.

The FICO score scale ranges from 300 to 850, with the majority of people in the United States in the 600 - 850 range. You can only get your FICO score from www.myfico.com. It will cost $15 per credit bureau or $45 for all three scores.

Laura asks…

How fast do credit card companies report changes?

I have paid down some balances already for some time but the changes are not appearing on my credit report. I'm not pulling up my credit however, I have alerts when my scores go up or down or if there's inquiries etc. Do I have to ask them to report the change in balance? Why is it that when you rack up a ton of charges they report them really fast but when they're paid off, they take forever? Is there a way to "speed up" the process?

dj answers:

All the credit card card copmaines report to the three credit bureaus once a month. Just paying down balances in one month will not make a difference in your score unless your debt to income ratio makes a big change.

Here is some more detailed info about it -

http://buildcredit.ifastnet.com

Good luck.

Helen asks…

How often does Household Bank report to credit bureaus?

I recently got a Household Bank credit card in order to help build up my credit score. I have only used the card for small purchases and have paid off the balances for 2 months (the amount of time I've had the card) but no payments have shown up on my credit report as of yet. I was under the impression that Household Bank reported to the credit bureaus every month. Does anyone know when the payments might show up?

dj answers:

If you are looking for the free credit score usa national site, check out this site

http://Credit-Report-Online-USA.com

Here you can get your 3-in-1 free credit report and credit score rating

Donald asks…

What will my credit report show if I choose to settle an old credit card account with a debt collector?

I would like to settle a few closed credit accounts that have been charged off and bought out by debt collectors. The collection agency is offering me a discounted rate to pay off this account. If I choose this option, will my credit report eventually show this account closed and paid off, as stated by the agency?

dj answers:

Think very carefully before you do this. Depending on your state, debts are only legally collectible for a certain period of time. In addition, they can only be reported for a certain period of time. Depending on when the last activity was on your account, you may have passed this time threshold, or are approaching it, but paying a lesser amount will re-start the reporting time clock. Do some research and find out what the statute of limitations are in your state. You may have to live with a crappy credit report for just a little while longer until such time when the negative stuff begins to fall off.

I'm not saying that's the moral or ethical thing to do, but we're not here to judge anyone's moral compass (or lach thereof).

William asks…

How do I get a credit report with out a credit card or checking account?

I spent some time in jail and my credit card expired. Currently I have no checking account or active credit card. How do I get a credit report? All the sites I have seen require a valid active credit card.

dj answers:

Try visiting sites that aren't porno and you won't need a credit card.

Credit Score Chart

Posted on March 6, 2012 by dj

Michael asks…

How helpful you assess credit score chart is to get personal loan early?

dj answers:

I had the same problem, but now its solved.
Visit:http://www.AntiFraudReport.com

James asks…

I need a credit score chart to see what is score is good and what is bad?

Can you tell me how to check credit tables

dj answers:

No such thing. A score is a tool that is one of many that a creditor uses to make a decision. It is subject to the creditor's interpretation.

Sandra asks…

Credit Score Chart?

I want to know if my credit score is considered good, very good or excellent but when I search for information online each website has a different opinion on what is good and what is excellent. Some websites consider my score to be good while others consider it very good and a few even consider it excellent. Is there an actual chart that shows what category my credit score falls in? Also, I want to know if I have a good score for my age. Any information or opinions will be appreciated. My credit score is 712 and I am 20 years old. I turned 20 on March 21st 2008. Thank you for any help provided!
I am just curious and it is good to stay on top of your credit score. It is really important for everything you do in life. It effects your payments which effects your life. If you have a good credit score you get a lower interest rate and that makes it easier to make your payments. And for the record, I'm not worried about my credit score and I'm not worried about getting loans or anything either. Just want to know if I have good credit or not and how much my paticular score will help me. I also just want to know if I am at a good score for my age or if I am behind. Don't care either way, just wanted someone elses opinion on my score. I know how credit scores work, I don't need a lesson.

dj answers:

Regardless of age, ANY score over 700 is VERY GOOD to EXCELLENT. You should have NO problems getting credit, and if you use it wisely, your score can only go up.

Helen asks…

Does anyone have an Official FICO credit score chart? I've seen so many different variations.?

dj answers:

Here ya go!

Daniel asks…

Is their any chart which shows credit score and amount one can get as loan?

What are the factors which account for getting loans specially educational loans? Does one need to have sound income or irregular income will do?

dj answers:

If there is one it will not be accurate because of the variables involved in deciding loans.

One of the biggest myths is the one about credit score and how it counts for everything, this is simply not true.

Much more important is your credit profile which is what makes up your score.

I look at credit every day and see people with 700 scores that can not buy a car because their score is made up of one credit card with a $500.00 limit paid 15-times and a couple of student loans.

While this type of profile generates a great score it doe's not show the ability or the willingness to actually pay anyone.

Credit Score Range For Auto Loan

Posted on March 5, 2012 by dj

Mark asks…

What kind of interest rate can you get with a 623 credit score for an auto loan?

What is an average range for "fair" credit?

dj answers:

Depends on new or used car. The best bet and fastest is go to a new car dealer(they sell used also) and apply there and see what they can come up with(they use many places to get the loans) --also depends on what other bills and your income (debt to income ratio) it could be 7-14% truly hard to say

Steven asks…

What's a reasonable auto-loan interest rate from a credit union?

I've heard credit unions are the best places to go for an auto loan, for reasonable interest rates. What's the typical range of interest rates I should expect or look for from a credit union, say, for a $20,000 car loan? I have excellent credit (around 750 score). Thanks

dj answers:

Depending on if its new or using and your debt to income percentage I would say 3% new and 7% used depending on miles as well

Donald asks…

Credit Score 641. Can I get approved for Auto Loan?

My credit score is 641 and my car motor finally gave out. I am looking at getting a used vehicle in the 13-15000 dollar range. I am wanting to trade in my old car which is only worth around 500 or so with the motor not working. I have 3 accounts open currently with one paid off as of 2 months ago and the other two going to be paid off within the next 6 months. (davids bridal, zales, farmers furniture). I applied for an auto loan about 2 months ago from Capital One Auto Finance but was declined online. Thats when i did a credit check myself and got the 641 score and that my credit history is 2 and half years old. What are my chances that I can get approved for any type of auto loan?

dj answers:

I work for wells fargo dealer services (auto finance division), I loan on cars all day long. A 641 credit score on a 13k-15k car is in our wheelhouse. I personally approve those all the time. Now there are other factors, like your debt ratios, income, loan to value(ltv), payment to income(pti), age of car and miles, depth of file, time on bureau, stability on job and at residence. Basically your ability to pay and the risk associated with your creidt history. Basically you didnt give enough info for me to give you an educated gues but i would say your chances are good. You should get approved by someone it just depends on if you like the rate and term or not. I would suggest asking the dealership if they do business with wells fargo and if so ask them to submit it to us. Worst anyone can say is no.

Laura asks…

Auto Loan, Student Loan, & Financial Aid Help?

I'm currently thinking of applying on all three this summer. I have a full-time job but seeking to replace with a part-time job to pay my bills and make room for school. I plan on applying for 2 loans: $10,000 for auto and another $15,000 on student loan. I have limited credit history of 8 months with a credit score ranging from 640-660 maybe even at 680 due to regular payments on my 2 credit card bills. I've had my current job for a year and a month but working here won't get me anywhere that is why I decided to further my career by going back to college. I am also currently applying for my financial aid as a full-time student to help out with school's tuition and expenses. I could probably deal with $400-500 a month payments for the two loans and I have minimal payments for my living and misc expenses. But would this be a good decision? I need experienced individuals to advice and give suggestions pls. Thank you very much!

dj answers:

Well, a couple of things you might want to consider.

First, your credit score is in the average range so don't expect a very good interest rate, especially on an auto loan. With you credit rating as it is, don't let anyone try and sell you a car loan with an interest any higher than 7 or 8. If a dealer does, they are trying to take you to the cleaners. Find financing somewhere else if that happens.

Second: A bank is going to look at whats called your "debt to income" ratio. Its the difference between what you make and the payments you make on your debts and if they feel that your debt to income ratio will be too high, they they might deny you a loan or charge you high interest rates.

Third: Student loans are a whole different animal when it comes to loans. Most "student" loans can be set up so that you don't have to start paying on the principle until you graduate. The catch is that some banks will make you start making payments on the interest right away and only the principle is deferred.

You mentioned that you might want 10,000 for an auto loan. You can find a really nice used car for WAYYY less than that, something that isn't a beater or an eyesore. You could easily get something like a 02-04 Honda Civic for half that and it wont cost you an arm and a leg to operate.

I applaud your decision to go back to school. It will open opportunities that weren't there before.

Whatever you do, be smart and don't stretch yourself too thin. Good Luck!

Sandra asks…

Bad Credit Auto Loan?

Hey guys... My Grilfriend has bad credit, a score in the mid to high 500 range.

She desperatly needs a new car... shes not looking for anything too pricey in the 3-5k range...

she has about 1k to put down... and i can help her a little if needed...

How can she go about getting a loan with out getting killed in the intrest rates...

she is thinking a buy here pay here place.. but i know those intrest rates are soo high...

i am planning on buying a house im my name... and i jsut purchased a new 24k car before i met her... so i dont want to co-sign if its going to screw up my morgage rates

can you guys offer any suggestions for her us?

We live in CT

dj answers:

1. You co-signing wouldn't affect your score unless she defaults on the loan, even with on late payment it could mess up your score.
2. If she really want to buy a car, she could talk to her bank and see what they can do for her. We just got pre-approved for $17000 for a car through our bank and my husband's credit is in the higher 500. It had an interest rate of 16%. Hope I helped.

Check My Credit Score Absolutely Free

Posted on March 4, 2012 by dj

Robert asks…

Can I check my credit score absolutely Free?

Free as in not having to put in a Credit Card#; which is kind of hard to do when you can't get one.

dj answers:

You can get a free REPORT from:

www.annualcreditreport.com

However, there isn't any place you can get a SCORE for free.

Carol asks…

Is www.creditkarma.com a relaible site to check credit score?

I have open an account with them its absolutely free anytime you can look at your score but that is it. But I have a big difference Experian says my score is 586 and creditkarma.com says its 589. What the difference experian was updated 4/10/10 and creditkarma was updated 4/15/10. Which one is right?

dj answers:

Experian uses Vantage scores -- scale to 990 vs FICO's 850. A 586 Experian score is really poor.

CreditKarma.com offers a free score estimator. It's not FICO. But it's kinda like FICO, give or take 50 points or so. Good enough if you are just curious about your score.

Creditors use FICO scores. You can only get FICO scores from the Equifax site or MyFico.com. Consumers cannot get FICO scores for Experian any more. You have to pay for the FICO scores.

By the way, you have a different FICO score for each credit bureau. It is very common for the scores to be different, some even are large differences. Not all creditors report to all three credit bureuas. Reports can be different.

Sandra asks…

Anywhere you can actually get a FREE credit report?

I know there are many free credit report websites out there...but which one is NOT a scam, and has absolutely NO fees. I want something safe and secure so that i can check my credit score.

dj answers:

Once a year you are entitled to a free report from all three bureaus. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com There you can request either 1 report or all 3.

Thomas asks…

How can post code affect credit history?

Lately I applied for credit, but my application has been denied. I just wondering, how post code could affect my credit scoring? Is it matter? Is any credit check companies which provide absolutely FREE credit check? Thanks Arvydas

dj answers:

Generally if you live in an area that has been most affected by the mortgage crisis or job losses then the creditor may claim that it is due to worsening economic circumstances in your area, but, that would be regional discrimination, aka redlining.

Capital One and American Express have been known to do it.
Capital One was recently pressured to back off of doing that because of U.S. Rep. Barney Frank. As far as I know they have, but...

You might Google Capital One and redlining together and do some reading.

If you had been denied, and the denial letter states it was because of where you live, you might file complaints with the appropriate agencies.

You cannot check your FICO score for free, but you can order your free credit reports from annualcreditreport.com
You can also get your free reports from whichever credit reporting agency that was checked by the creditor who denied you credit.

Steven asks…

I applied for a job on Craig's List, and they replied asking me to get my credit checked...?

This was part of the e-mail I received:

As part of our routine background check of all employees we require all applicants who have reached this stage to do a routine credit check to verify your details. This check is completely free to you and all details are absolutely confidential.

Please Note: We cannot and will not use bad credit scores/ratings to deny your job application (your credit is not important to us) - this is simply to verify your past employment history.

To get your credit report at no cost we suggest you use this provider: http://creditreportsforall.com

This was fishy enough already, but when I clicked on the link, Firefox came up with a warning: http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a76/KaiaAyanami/Untitled.jpg

Is this a scam? It's not like the job sounded like much of anything, or "too good to be true". Should I stay away from this?

dj answers:

No.....This is a scam to get your social security number to do identity theft.

Here's a warning message on Craigslist about this:

SCAM ALERT - affiliate scammers are posting bogus ads promising (nonexistent!) employment, paid research trials, or other compensation, but then notifying repliers that they'll need to jump through a hoop first, directing them to:

* background checking services
* credit checking or reporting sites
* sites where you are instructed to enter your resume or other personal information
* sites where you are asked to sign up for a "free" trial offer
* sites offering training or education
* sites offering a "system" for making money
* survey or focus group sites
* sites designed to deliver malware or misuse your identifying information
all in hopes of earning affiliate marketing commissions or otherwise profiting at the expense of persons seeking employment.

Best Credit Score

Posted on March 3, 2012 by dj

Sandy asks…

Which is the best and cheapest way to get your credit score and report?

Suggest me the best credit score reporter depending on the uptodate info.

dj answers:

"Cheapest?" It's free once a year from each of the major credit reporting agencies.
Try www.expedia.com
You can get it online.

Ruth asks…

What is the best way to pay off a credit card to receive the best credit score?

Lets say the minimum payment of your credit card is $20 and your outstanding balance is $500. I know that it is recommended to pay above the minimum payment. But if I want to build the most credit for a better credit score should I be paying the debt lets say $100 dollars a month or is it better to pay all $500 in one payment?

dj answers:

You can use this credit monitoring service to pre-estimate future scores for different scenarios of such payments - credit-report-free.totalh.com

Lizzie asks…

What is the best and quickest way to improve your credit score?

My credit score is just above the mid 550's. I made some mistakes with credit cards, and they have gone to collection companies (6 cards). I am in the process of negotiating each of them down and paying them off, but my score will not go up by this since these accounts were written off. What is the best and quickest way to improve my credit score? Best thing is, my car will be paid off in about 7 payments...

dj answers:

There is no quick way to repair your credit. You need at least 24 months of consistent, on-time payment history to start overcoming those charged off accounts.

If your car payments have been on time, that will help your score but paying off the loan won't give you any kind of large score increase. Installment loans build your credit as the payments are made.

If you have any current, open credit card accounts, use the card for small purchases and pay in full every month. If you don't have an opened account, you can try to get a secured account -- you pay a deposit which is held as collateral against the line of credit.

Maria asks…

What is the best way to get a student loan if I don't have the best credit score?

I have made some credit mistakes in the past, and have a mediocre credit score. Right now, I don't get approved for new lines of credit. However, I am in need of a student loan to cover living expenses for the remainder of this semester at a private university.
Does anyone out there have any suggestions for how to go about getting an "emergency" student loan in the middle of the academic semester? I appreciate any helpful advice or suggestions, thanks.

dj answers:

Ask your mom

David asks…

What is the best credit score monitoring service?

to get close to get instant notification when your credit score changes(only the real FICO scores, not the fake scores)?

Also, do you know of any coupon codes or discounts/deals going on now for free trials etc.? like a 30 day free trial
Sharon, I know about the free yearly credit reports, but I want to see how my actual score changes in real-time according to changes in credit limit utilization %

dj answers:

As far as I'm concerned, _all_ of the monitoring services are worthless.

Yes, your scores will change on a near-daily basis, but who cares? It simply does not matter that you are at 725 today, 722 tomorrow, and 730 the day after. The point of credit scores is to show whether you are credit-worthy, and the ONLY time you need to know that is when you want to get credit, by financing a house or car, getting a credit card, or whatever. For most people, an event like that happens once a year or once every couple of years. (It may be a little more frequent for young people just starting out.)

Anyway, to answer your question directly, I have followed this industry for a while (although "gimmickry" is probably a better word than "industry." 30-day cancellation privileges are rare. Most allow cancellation after no more than 7 or 10 days, and there is a reason for the short periods. They don't want to make it possible for you to actually cancel. The latest little trick is to make you cancel in writing, sent to some box number across the country. You would probably have to cancel as soon as you sign up to make sure the cancellation arrives in time. And if it arrives a day late, oops, sorry, you have a "membership" and you will be charged for it.

If you do decide to go ahead and try to use a service with a cancellation privilege, I strongly urge you to send your cancellation by Certified Mail. That way the Post Office keeps a record of the delivery date. They can't just forget to pick up their mail and process the cancellations, if you have proof that you sent it in by the required date.

I hope this helps.

Checking My Credit Score Without A Credit Card

Posted on March 2, 2012 by dj

Michael asks…

Weird Info In Credit Monitoring?

I requested that Chase increase the limit on a credit card and they denied me. In their denial letter, one of the reasons that was cited was that the available credit on my bank credit cards are too low (I guess a high balance to credit limit ratio). Knowing for a fact that I had a balance of less than $1,000 on two cards whose limits added to $10,000, i went to truecredit.com to see if any unauthorized accounts were open without my knowledge.

I checked the "3 bureau report" and saw that only the two actual credit cards were showing on my report. One was labeled a "credit card" and the other, which I initially started 6 years ago as a secured card with a deposit of $500 (I got my deposit back after 1 year and now the credit limit is $7,000), was labeled by two bureaus as a "flexible spending credit card."

The reports also showed that "available balance... too low" was negatively impacting my credit score but listed a combined balance of $987 on the two credit cards (combined limit of $10,000).

Does anyone have an idea of what if causing this?

Thank you!
Reconsideration letter? To Whom? Requesting reconsideration for what?
By the way, I was subscribed to "freecreditreport.com" until maybe 2 months ago (which I believe mainly uses Experian data). The website consistently cited "you have a good cushion of available credit" as one of the factors that raised my credit score.

dj answers:

Some scoring models incorrectly report the high balance on a flexible spending card as its credit limit. I can't say that Chase is doing that, but they might. Did you try a reconsideration letter?

Richard asks…

Have any of you ever taken out one of those personal loans through a bank/credit card company?

I used to get those offers all of the time for stuff like $50,000, etc. I have what I feel is great/excellent credit, have a decent credit history and 4 major credit cards (2 of which have no balance, but high credit limits that help my score). I've had a couple of emergencies and ended up using my other two cards. One has around $7,700 on it and is currently under a no-interest offer that they gave me. It has probably 8 months or so remaining on that offer. The other has around $7,500 on it and is at about 12% APR. That one I ended up putting some dental procedures and such on, which were very much needed. Last credit score of 763.

So without someone bashing on me for having balances on credit cards, I'm simply curious about these "personal loans" that I get pre-qualifications for in the mail on a regular basis. Usually from my bank (Bank of America) or from Discover (which I have a credit card with, with no balance). I know that these "pre-qualified" offers do not mean I will be approved for the loan, and it's not a guarantee. I also know that they probably carry some pretty stiff interest.

I still live at home with family and we kind of band together to make things not as bad financially on one another. So I do not pay "rent" per se, and I do not currently have my own vehicle, etc. The typical things that zap most people's income. I usually make about $1,100 - $1,200 a month after taxes. I know that's not a lot in today's economy and may very well be scrutinized if I were to apply for a loan.

Currently, I have $6,000 cash in a checking account with my bank. It seems that this does not help in any way as collateral even with my current bank (BofA), because they recently slashed my credit limit on a credit card that I have a balance on with them. They cut it down to within $300 of my credit limit, which of course made that look bad. In reality, I was thousands of dollars from my credit limit. They did it because I called with a simply question (someone at their company screwed up and I was trying to get something fixed) and they ended up screwing me over not once, but twice. They canceled one of my cards with them completely (it had no balance and I had it for 5 years with them, with no late payments, etc.) The second card had the credit limit slashed.

So basically my idea is the approach of trying to get approved for a $15K loan through one of these offers (if they approve it) and pay off both credit cards. Then pay around $800 a month on the loan, trying to pay it down as quickly as possible to avoid as much interest as I can. With these personal loans, they say "XXX amount per month for X or XX years" in order to pay back certain amounts. Is the payment amount per month fixed? Say for instance, you can only pay $450 a month for the set repayment amount and can't overpay the amount, so they can charge you more interest over time? Or can you pay as much as you want on it each month?
Of course, I already know about the catch-22 of today. Credit card companies are telling people, "Hey, we have this great balance transfer offer! But wait, you have balances on other cards, and we know that's what the balance transfer offer is for, but we can't approve you because of those balances on the other cards."

Also, loan companies are doing the same thing, apparently...but duh, why would people take out loans to pay stuff otherwise?

dj answers:

Just because you got pre-approved does not guarantee you'll get the loan. I had a high credit limit with BOA for over 25 years and they too cut in half. I just called and told them to close it altogether.By next year when the banks cash flow drops, they'll start offering new cards with great deals. If you can pay 10% per month on those accounts, it will be paid off in 12 months and you'd still have your $6,000.

Helen asks…

Help with a Credit Card!?

So ive got a problem, ive got a PERFECT credit score, but no credit history, im only 21. ive got my own apartment and everything but no matter what i get denied for credit on most things like credit cards and such. I couldnt even get approved for a small loan. Anyone have any credit card ideas or Even know some companies, or hell i'll take anything. HELP ME! BTW, you do have credit without credit history. My Credit Score is 903, but i have no history. I do have this credit i checked with my banker, and went over it for an hour. PLEASE i ask for no response that are similar to "you have no credit history thus you have no credit score". I have a credit score, i have no credit history yet, and i dont care about your opinions of this matter, all i want is advice on what to do to BUILD CREDIT HISTORY, ive posted this 2 other times and people still give the same nonchalant answers, i dont care about them. All im asking is some ideas on what to do to get a credit card when im consistently denied, ive applied for 3 credit cards over a 2 years and 1 loan and denied on all of them.
I did go to my bank. they said i need to get a secured card, like pretty much a pre pay card that builds my credit, my banker told me it was bullshit and to not get it. But a lot of people think i should go with capital one. i think im going to look into this cause ive heard about 3 reponses to get a capital one card. Thanks!

dj answers:

Do you have a bank account? If you do then walk into that bank and talk to them about getting a credit card. If they attempt to hand you an application and tell you to turn it in through the mail or such explain your situation and that you'd like to do this in person.

I can understand not getting an answer to a rejection if you applied for credit cards online or through the mail, but if you applied for a loan at a legitimate institution then they will tell you why you were denied.

I agree that people here forget about the question and go into lecture mode a lot. You're upset that you aren't getting your question answered, but it really seems a big piece of the picture is being left out.

Charles asks…

If money is not an issue, what is the best way to increase my FICO credit score?

Please help me with suggestions on how to raise my FICO credit score. I understand the rules of improving this and am not looking to break any laws, just want some guidance removing negative items and boosting my scores. There's no use crying over spilled milk so discussing the reasoning for receiving these negative items is moot, I just want help fixing the problems. I live in California and am not sure if that makes a difference with advice.

I would like to lease a car in the next few months and recently checked my credit score for all three bureaus and saw some possible negative items. The items that are potentially decreasing my score include: collections agency for medical bills, tax liens, small business credit cards closing and affecting my personal credit, and standard bills that were paid later than 30 days.

Are there things i can do to boost my score? Open additional credit cards? Secured credit cards? Credit lines? Any positive work I can do to improve my credit is appreciated too.

What are the quickest options to possibly remove any items? Are there attorneys or specialists who can help with the heavy lifting of improving credit scores? I know there are credit repair companies like "Lexington Law" which I tried without much success. They didn't work because they don't offer much customization and you either fit in their preselected categories or not. Some of my negative items are borderline cases and I would rather pay more money for individual help and have a dedicated attorney giving me personal attention.

Serious, constructive advice is much appreciated. Thank you!

dj answers:

The first thing is to pay off all your debt. Then get a secured credit card with a $500 limit from a bank. Make sure they belong to the credit bureau. Use it for gas and small items. It will probably take 12/18 to boost your credit score though.

Lisa asks…

My credit score is low, 586...I think I know how to fix it, but need advice.?

I just checked my credit and score for the first time in years!! I assumed that i was getting loans so what does it matter. Problem...I have a super low credit score. I plan on buying a car in the next 1-2 yrs and want to raise my score to minimum 650, the higher the better. Here are my issues...

*2 credit card charge off from 2006 but they still report it monthly so it will never drop off. balances are double the original credit limit.
*1 credit card charge off paid in full in 2007
*1 car loan, very spotty 30-90 day history...balance just paid but hasn't reflected on my credit report yet.
*1 personal loan opened in 2006 and paid per agreement (never late)
*2 student loans totaling $2800 which will be deffered but have yet to hit my credit report

Do I pay the charged off credit cards off since they are never going to drop off since they report them monthly? And ask that they replace charge off with paid in full?
Do I pay my personal loan off 4 months early to show a 0 balance?
Do I start making monthly payments on my student loans even though they are deffered?

I want to make the most of this income tax and really fix this report and score fast without going into savings....
Oh and there is a never late paid in full car loan that is getting ready to drop off. I filed bankruptcy in 2003 so all other debts prior to 2003 have already dropped off.
i filed bankruptcy at 23 years old and at 26 ruined my credit again just trying to make it. My car wasn't behind since 2008. Now with credit scores being so much more important then they were even 2 years ago, I am trying to improve my mistakes from the past and am willing and ready to pay or do what it takes to fix this. I am in a much better financial situation now than I have ever been before.

dj answers:

?redit repair work?d fine to fix my credit. They disputed and removed lots of bad items from my credit report. I used this service - buildcredit.ifastnet.com

Credit Score Needed For Discover Card

Posted on March 1, 2012 by dj

Susan asks…

Discover Cards Credit Score Tracker. Should I enroll Or shouldnt I? Those who own Discover Credit Card Answer?

Your Open QuestionShow me another »
Discover's Credit Score Tracker? Should I enroll in it?
So I was chatting with customer service from discover, they have great customer service btw, anyway I told her that this was my first credit card and that I wanted to keep my account in good standing. She told me about the services they had, like the credit score tracker. Each month discover mails you your credit report. The enroll fee is 7.99. This is so you can see how your credit score changes for month to month good or bad. Anyhow, I told her that I haven't had my credit card for 6months so I may not have a score yet, She told me I may and I may not. My concern is that I heard that when you get your credit report it lowers your credit score. Is this so with the discover card tracker.Also do I need to enroll now or should I wait till June? I know that each credit card company reports to the credit bureau each month, but I doubt I have a score. Ive only made two payments so far. December and January. So what do you guys think?

dj answers:

It is not a 1 time fee. It will be a monthly charge as credit scores are never free

Richard asks…

What credit score get you which credit card?

Also how much do you get finged for checking to see if you can get a store card or a credit card?

I recently got a Gap card, Im wondering how long it wil be before I can open another credit card. I tried Discover but I guess my score must now be too low.

Does anyone know what score each card needs for "approval".

ie what do you need for a
student discover card?
how about an amex?
wellsfargo student card?

Store cards
target?
american eagle?
victorias secret?

I use to had an american eagle card which i paid in full one day, the next time i went to make a purchase in the store, they told me the account had been closed at my request which i had NOT requested, and of course when I reapplied it was denied. It would be nice to know when to not even try. I wasn't going to try the Gap card but they said they'd give me a discount even if I didnt get it I was shocked when I got it, because I never was able to get a jcrew or Gap card before.

dj answers:

For now, forget which score you need.....
Pull your report yourself and see what is going on

www.annualcreditreport.com (it is free)

when you get the report, you can see what is on there and what you need to improve, what the problem areas are, etc.

To answer your question, I dont know what the magical number is for a score and I would guess that it varies from person to person since most of the cards inquire about your income (ability to pay back the loan) how long you have lived where you live and if you rent or own (stability).

I do think thatyour card was probably closed due to inactivity on the card (they loose money sending all the paper invoices etc to you and they are not getting the interest payments

Robert asks…

Discover's Credit Score Tracker? Should I enroll in it?

So I was chatting with customer service from discover, they have great customer service btw, anyway I told her that this was my first credit card and that I wanted to keep my account in good standing. She told me about the services they had, like the credit score tracker. Each month discover mails you your credit report. The enroll fee is 7.99. This is so you can see how your credit score changes for month to month good or bad. Anyhow, I told her that I haven't had my credit card for 6months so I may not have a score yet, She told me I may and I may not. My concern is that I heard that when you get your credit report it lowers your credit score. Is this so with the discover card tracker.Also do I need to enroll now or should I wait till June? I know that each credit card company reports to the credit bureau each month, but I doubt I have a score. Ive only made two payments so far. December and January. So what do you guys think?

dj answers:

No just another monthly charge.

Joseph asks…

How bad will being late on a credit card payment effect my score?

I am 18 years old I got my first credit card back in november from discover no credit score was needed it actually was a student credit card for college student who have no credit and want to build good credit. Anyway they started me out with a 250 dollar line of credit. I got bad advice from my older cousin who told me that i could max it out as long as i payed it back on time ever month. I soon later found out that it is bad to max out your credit card. I have no interest on the card for 6months so that's really good.I want to have the balance payed off by then. I had my first payment of a minuim of 15 dollars, WHICH I DIDNT WANT TO BE LATE ON! but unfortunately my bank was messed up and I couldn't put the money into my account to pay the bill. I was so upset i really was looking forward to being on time, Anyway I payed it on December 10, and was hit with a 18 dollar late fee which made me go over, I was also mad about that. So that messed me all up. but when i made my 15 dollar payment it brought it down to like 253. Then my next payment for january 1st was 9 dollars I Wasn't going to be late for that so i payed 20 dollars on december 28 and now my balance is 233. So what i wanted to know is how bad will it mess up my score me being late for decembers payment?

dj answers:

You can use this credit monitoring service to pre-estimate future scores for different scenarios of such payments - buildcredit.ifastnet.com

Laura asks…

Discover credit card?

I want to apply for the discover card but not sure if my fico score is good enough. If you have a discover card, what was your fico score at the time? Mines is 720, is that high enough? If so which discover card should I apply for, (Discover Gold or Discover Platinum)? I think the platinum card you have to have excellent credit and the gold card you need good credit.

dj answers:

I would go for the Discover Platinum Card (or Discover More Card... As it's now called). Your credit score is right on the border line of being excellent. And it seems Discover has loosened their approval guidelines as of late... Because approval rates are up. You can find a complete list of Discover credit cards here:

http://www.asapcreditcard.com/discover-cards.html

Hope this helps. GOOD LUCK!

Credit Score Online Experian

Posted on February 29, 2012 by dj

Helen asks…

Why do Credit Bureaus give different Credit Scores?

When I requested my Credit Scores online, an agency called FreeScore gave me my Credit Score from Experian which was different from what another Agency (called IdentityIQ) gave from the same Experian.

dj answers:

This should help you to understand how credit scores work..

FICO scores from 300 to 850 and Vantage scores from 501 to 990.

Here is the breakdown for both systems.

Vantage Plus system scores from 501-990.
A-901-990
B-801-900
C-701-800
D-601-700
F-501-600

FICO system scores from 300-850.
Elite-740-& up
Prime-700-739
Preferred-660-699
Standard-625-659
Sub-prime-624-& under

FICO is the only one that matters since it's the one that all major lenders look at.

So as you can see it depends on if your looking at a true FICO score or a Vantage plus score.

As far as what makes up credit scores it's the following;
1. Payment history (longer the better) 35%
2. Time in bureau (longer the better) 15%
3. Types of credit (mix of credit cards & installment loans) 10%
4. New credit (new accounts and inquiries) 10%
5. Debt to credit ratio (lower the better) 30%

And just so you will know Experian only uses Vantage, Equifax only uses FICO and Transunion uses both depending of which type of credit report is requested of which there are 3. The standard that people get from the Internet, the auto enhanced which only car dealers and lenders see and the factual which only mortgage people see. The last two are not available to the general public.

To have the very best score and profile people need 3-4 credit card accounts (revolving) with balances below 30% of their credit limits and 2 cars, homes, boats, motorcycles, computers, furniture or personal accounts (installment) all with good long payment history's.

Add to this that unless you get your scores either direct from either Equifax or myfico.com your getting what's called a FAKO score which makes it even worse because they all have their own system to calculate scores.

Credit scores are based on the last 24-months of activity, and they can change daily depending on what information has been submitted by your creditors.

Ruth asks…

55o credit score?

Experian credit online gave me this score. Is the annual credit report ligit. When you look at your information does it has everything on it or does it show certain things? What is the best way to re-establish credit.

dj answers:

Their scores are accurate and yes annualcreditreport.com is ligit.

And yes your credit report shows everything that has been reported.

The best and fastest way to rebuild credit is with credit cards, use them for every day things, never exceed 30% of your limit and pay in full before the due date.

Over 90% of your score is made up of the last 24-months of activity so anything that is older then that is not really hurting you that bad.

Thomas asks…

Why can't I receive my credit score?

So I have tried to use Equifax and Experian to obtain my credit score online, but upon receiving my results I was told that my identity could not be proven with the information I provided. I made sure I provided correct information, so I do not understand why I am getting these results.

Additionally, I am 18 and I do not own a credit card nor have I ever owned one, but I own a debit card. Any help would be appreciated.

dj answers:

If you never have had any, or applied for, credit, then you don't have a credit file yet. Debit cards are not reported to the credit bureaus and therefore have no effect on your credit rating.

Laura asks…

Why doesn't my credit report show my credit score?

It got my credit report online from Experian. Why doesn't it show my credit score?

dj answers:

Because they want you to pay to actually see what your score is. As long as you have good lines of credit, you are fine.

William asks…

I have a 679 equifax and 652 experian credit score, which credit cards could I get approved for.?

I currently have one credit card that I have always paid in full on time every month for the last seven months, but with my new job I need a larger limit (at least 1000) to travel with. My company is wierd, they want me to pay for everything on credit card first and then submit an expense report each month where they reimburse me. However they dont offer a coporate card for these things. I have only that one card on my credit report, so am i basically in the no credit category? What credit card issuer will approve me online today?

dj answers:

Try Capital One and H.S.B.C.

Check My Credit Rating

Posted on February 28, 2012 by dj

Lisa asks…

Have can I check my credit rating with out having to pay any thing?

I tried checking my credit report/rating but you have to put in your debit card details and I dont want to pay any thing.
Can I ask my bank do it for me and get them to tell me what my credit rating is?

dj answers:

Your entitled to 1 free credit report a year, one from each creditor
Experion, Equifax and Transunion. Try visiting their sites to request a copy

Laura asks…

Can I check my credit rating for free?

How do I check my credit rating? Is it possible to do it yourself?

dj answers:

Google: Annual Credit Report.com / UK

http://www.annualcreditreport.co.uk/

Do not trust any other site - it could be a scam that will charge you monthly.
The monthly fee is hard to remove

Ruth asks…

Which of the three companies would I check my credit rating?

I am married. Although I have not owned nor carried a balance on credit cards (I haven't in years and years) my husband opened up several himself and is in 25,000 debt. I believe my score is in the 500's because of him. I never ever signed a joint form on any of his credit cards-but I think he put my name on them as a co-user. I don't know- but I need to confirm my rating and investigate this.

dj answers:

The free site is annualcreditreport.com. It will guide you through a link to each of the three reporting agencies. You are entitled to one report each year from each of them.

If you find you have credit cards you don't know about, contact the credit card companies and have your name removed.

You aren't going to get your credit score for free but you don't need it. Just make sure your reports are accurate.

Steven asks…

How can i check my credit rating Free?

How can i check my credit rating FREE, i live in the UK and i need to do it now so i cant wait for a letter or anything.

Thanks

dj answers:

Hi,

The Experian website will allow you to fill in the forms online and receive your credit report - they are the UK's largest credit reference agency, so it might be advised to start here.

Your initital credit report is FREE

http://redo.me.uk/freecreditreport

Lizzie asks…

How/Where do you check your credit rating?

I had a whole bunch of problems with the Canada student loans people messing up my account and I am scared that because of THEIR mistakes it has done something to my credit rating. I do not have a credit card, so the only things going toward my credit rating are my car and my loan, so since I have never missed a car payment I will know that the loans people have messed it up if it is anything other than perfect. Where do you go to get your credit rating?

dj answers:

Credit-report-score.10001mb.com - try this site. I use it to monitor my credit and also cleaned off some bad items from my credit report. You can apply for free initial plan and get your scores and reports for free.

Credit Scores Explained Range

Posted on February 27, 2012 by dj

Mary asks…

How do you establish credit in this economy?

Well, a few years ago (late 2005 - early 2006) my mom had a problem, and it took her outstanding credit down to a fair/poor range. She was talking to a Realtor and she was told she may be able to buy a house with her credit. (She currently rents). Well after pulling up her credit, it seems that since she hasn't bought anything on credit, (She needed a new car, and they turned her down for financing, so she pulled it out of her retirement) her credit score has been wiped clean. Now it's more ESTABLISHING credit than REBUILDING credit, as explained by the Realtor.

Thank You.

P.S. The whole house thing has happened in the past month.

dj answers:

It may be best for her to get a secured Visa where she puts money in a savings acct. As collateral.
DO NOT just start applying for cards, that will really hurt what score she has.
HSBC/Orchard offers the best secured card that I know of. Bank of America and CitiCard also offer secure cards but not as good of a deal as HSBC/Orchard
All are reputable.
Avoid cards that charge a month maintenance fee such as 1st Premiere bank.
Hope this helps!

George asks…

The Department of Education is not reporting my monthly payments, thus lowing my credit score 100 points!?

I was in a very bad car accident in few years back and had to have 2 surgeries. I had to teach myself how to walk all over again, and of course I was out of work and a place to stay due to this. During this 2 year period my student loans fell into default. I contacted the department of education after I got a letter about my loans being in default and each loan was placed in collections and reported deliquent each month. I fully explained my situation with documentation and tried to work out a very high payment plan of $331 a month, but a few months I fell behind because I was still not fully financially stable due to the accident. From missing the few payments the DOE attacked me with the wage garnishment and with the 15% deduction and in addition they want $600.00 a month for a year with no missed payments to get all the loans off my credit. This way out of my range. The big issue is that I have been on wage garnishment a year and a half and they are not reporting my payments

dj answers:

You need to file a dispute with each of the 3 major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). The bureaus will then forward the complaints to the DOE and the DOE has 30 days to respond. The best that you can hope for is that their response is accurate. If they fail to respond, the trade-line should be deleted from your credit report. Don't pay one of those "Fix-Credit" companies to do any of this for you because they will only file the disputes themselves and will likely do so inappropriately. Basically you'll just pay them to send pointless letters that are general disputes and will be of no use. You also have to file disputes with the DOE via Certified US Mail so that you have a receipt. You have to be able to prove the payments that have been made so you better have good records. Even if this was done through wage garnishment, you have to be able to support your claim. File disputes with the Attorney General's office and start checking through the BBB's (Better Business Bureau) site in order to file a complaint through them. All the work is going to have to be done by you so be prepared.

By the way, I just read the message above mine and it sounds like a pyramid scheme. Be careful and remember the way to make money is by doing hard work. If it were simple, we all would be rich and would destroy the economy.

Linda asks…

Does a negative credit rating really stay on your report 7 years?

Long story short... before I started college my dad and I took out a line of credit at a local credit union. I received financial aid and didn't need or use it. I was 18 at the time and my dad was the primary signer and I was an authorized user or co-signer. I had no credit at the time so this really helped me get credit fast and was able to get credit cards, other loans, etc.

Anyways. My dad was using the account to help build me credit. Well... he forgot to make two payments on it. Once in January and once in June. They were both 30 days late. Now because of the missed payments I have on my credit reports from the 3 major companies that this is a potentially negative report. The account has since been paid off and closed. Since I wasn't the primary user will this really stay on my credit report/score 7 years? Both payments were small and in the $40-50 range. BUT Discover card got wind of this and decided to drop my line of credit with them about 1k even though it really had nothing to do with me. I explained that to them and because my name is on the account it effects me too.

Basically, will this stay with me for 7 years? My other 9 accounts are all satisfactory and in good standing; never late and always paid.

dj answers:

Late notations stay on your report for only 2 years, not 7 years, not 10 years or any other years.

Your dad could try a goodwill letter to the CU and ask them to remove the late notations. Sometimes goodwill letters work and sometimes they don't but it never hurts to try.

You should find the name of someone who is a higher up in the CU (the higher up, the better) and address the letter to that person, be sure to include that persons name on the envelope along with the CU address so it will go directly to them. If you just send it to the credit union without putting someones name, who is in a higher position, then a front line CSR will be the one to deal with it and they have no power to do anything with it except deny the request.

In the letter your dad should tell them that he enjoys doing business with them and explain the reasons why he was late, keep in mind just saying "I forgot" probably won't be good enough. Then he should respectfully request that they be kind enough to remove the late notations from his and your credit reports.

Like I said earlier, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. If it does work then the lates will be removed. If it doesn't work then the lates will be removed 2 years from the date of the late and at that point the account will move from a negative into a positive account.

William asks…

How to understand if a credit card is any good for me?

When I was in college I messed up my credit something good. I am now digging myself out of that hole. I want to get a new credit card so I can work towards improving my score, but in the mean time my score obviously sucks (in the low 500 range), so obviously it's not easy to get some fantastic card. There are cards for people who suck like me, but they seem to have a lot of hidden fees and weird lingo that makes me nervous. So I'm wondering if someone would be so kind as to explain the benefits and negatives of some of these cards in terms that even I could understand. Also recommending better cards would be nice too.

Here's one that said they'd approve me:

https://www.publicbankcard.com/PSBFrontEnd/Pages/ApplicationScreen1.aspx?NID=1706&CID=112b8faa20107c051506179c441f56

And here's another:

https://www.centennialsecured.com/PersonalInfo.aspx?appid=FT1005061752856ZJ

Any help would be really, really appreciated. Also do prepaid credit cards build credit?

dj answers:

In your situation, I would STRONGLY advise against getting any credit card for now. Instead, accumulate a savings account balance. You are in the sub-prime category. You can get a credit card, but you'll be paying a very high interest rate, and a annual or monthly fee. Why buy a credit rating when you can earn one through a savings account.

1st link: Since your credit history is in the pits, you may get a $300 limit. If you are good, you request an increase (costs you $25 for the request). They may increase you to $500. Then if you are still good, you request another increase to maybe $750. Each time you get a limit increase, it costs you $25. Not a good deal there. They won't jump you to the maximum in one request - they'll lose each of those $25 charges.

2nd link: I couldn't open the link.

Sharon asks…

How can you handle a medical debt?

I had surgery about a two months ago on my arm. My husband's health insurance has high deductibles and left us with a bill of over $2000. The surgery was an outpatient procedure which was very expensive for a minor one. However, the follow-up care cost the most.

My husband and I are currently in an open chapter 13 bankruptcy. So our available cash is limited for bills. We are almost out of bankruptcy within the next year. Living on almost a third of your available net income has been a challenge but we tightened our belts after the first year by getting a less expensive rental, cutting out unnecessary items. Our car that we had when we filed went bad and we had to purchase a newer vehicle. So any extra money is now tied up in a monthly car payment.

The billing office of the hospital where I had the surgery has been hounding me for a payment or payment arrangement. I tried to explain that we are in a bankruptcy at the moment and would try at least something every month to pay the bill. We had registration renewal and a driver license renewal this month at the cost of almost $100. It's not much but is hurts when money is tight anyhow.

I'm willing to pay the bill, but medical care costs are ridiculous in this country. My sister had major surgery over 20 years ago and it only cost $8000. She had to have rods put into her foot after shattering her ankle. My mom didn't have to pay hardly any deductibles. My husband just had
a heart monitor done and it cost $4000! I did manage to get his hospital to make payment arrangements to pay $10 a month until after we are discharged from the bankruptcy then pay for the co-pay in full afterwards. Our credit score is getting in the good range and we want to be able to rent a nice apartment within a year. Getting a collection on my part might hurt our chances of getting a new place. Why are medical collectors so greedy? They made over 10K from my husband's insurance. I am not working at the moment. Let them try to sue me. You can't get blood from a turnip. Just frustrated. Thanks.

dj answers:

NEVER EVER EVER EVER VOTE REPUBLICAN THEY DONT GIVE A CARE ABOUT YOUR MEDICAL DEBT, THEY ARE PAYED MORE BY HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES THAN BY THE TAXPAYER FUNDED SALARIES!! I have been in the same problem, if you are up to it, set up a payment plan, they are required to do so. Also, if you have some cash to spend, you can barter with them and tell them that you can pay for the bills in full but all you have is x amount of cash and more often than not they will settle for much less than owed..
Ps, dont forget the first part of my answer

3 Credit Scores Monitoring

Posted on February 26, 2012 by dj

Maria asks…

why is my credit score so quick to drop?

well i have a low credit score but i was still able to finance a car about 8 months ago with the help of a co-signer. I have been paying my car on time since i got it 8 month now a couple of payments have even been done ahead of time. well about a month a go i got all 3 of my credit report and opened up account with free credit report dot com and i have monitoring my credit ever since. i found on my report that i have 3 negative accounts one of them was of $2000 that wasn't even mine so i quickly called the collection agency that appeared in the report and they said they would do further investigation and if its not mine they will delete it from my report im still waiting for that to happen. the other 2 i know about i paid one of them in full and the other one im giving payments to almost have it paid off. yet my credit report still stays that same. the other night i tried to apply for a credit card to see if that can help my credit go up a little and was declined. the next day i got an email from free credit report about a change in my report when i look it was the credit card that was declined made my report drop 14 points. So i pay one of the accounts in full i am making the effort to pay off another account which is almost paid off just one more payment, and i pay my car loan on time every month and my credit score wont improve. i get declined for a credit card and my score drops 14 points in one day whats the deal with that? what am i doing wrong?

dj answers:

From the information you provided, it seems that your prior existing negative items along with the inquiries for the car loan and credit card application are affecting your score the most.

Every time you apply for credit( your car loan and the credit card in this case) something called an "inquiry" is placed on the credit report that the lender used to check your credit. Inquiries affect your score for 12 months but the impact lessens as those 12 month pass. Negative items, such as Collections, 30-60-90 day lates and charge-offs will affect your score for much longer....usually around 7 years or so, even after being paid and showing a -zero- balance.

To start repairing your credit, request your free annual credit reports from Equifax, Exparian, and Transunion. Once you have those in hand, go over them with a fine tooth comb and make sure that all your personal information is correct and that all the accounts listed on each of them are, in fact yours. Then you can start by disputing the inaccurate information with each CRA as it pertains to each of your credit reports. In the meantime, keep making payments on time and try not to apply for any new credit until you have had a chance to look at the information on your credit reports and start the dispute process if it is warranted.

Linda asks…

how to boost my credit score?

My credit score right now is a 653 and alot of my paid of accounts are closed and i don't have anything bad on my credit. I have been monitoring it for months now. It has gone up 3 points in the last few months and i only have like 5 things open on my credit that i am working on getting paid down....how can i boost my credit score and make it better other than paying off my debt but not paying it off TOO fast?

dj answers:

?redit repair work?d fine to fix my credit. They disputed and removed lots of bad items from my credit report. I used this service - buildcredit.ifastnet.com

James asks…

Credit score keeps dropping- should we consolidate?

I married my husband 5 months ago, and we've been working to pay off his debts. So far we have only paid a little over $2,000 (there's about $6,000 left in collections) and we have financed a car in both of our names.

I signed him up for credit monitoring, so we can see if we have made any progress. His score has dropped from 540 to 481. We weren't expecting it to really increase, but why has it dropped so much in the last 3 months?

Would it help if we consolidated the rest of his debt or should we keep trying to handle it ourselves?

If we do pay off all these old debts, would it even increase his score?

After we pay these debts, what are some other ways we can raise his score?

dj answers:

Although I commend you for doing the right thing and paying off your collection accounts, that is not something the credit industry gives props to.

Many times when paying off an old collection account it reactivates the collection and makes it new again. Credit and collection reports are dated as the date of last activity. Meaning the last time a payment or debit occurred on the account. As time goes by, the collection looses its weight BUT if you reactivate it by making payments or paying it off - it renews and starts all over again.

According to your post, you still have several thousand dollars to pay down. Try to negotiate with the original creditors - not the collection agency that is reporting to the credit bureaus - try to negotiate the complete removal in return for payment. Then start rebuilding his credit by either adding him to one of your older credit cards with a high credit limit or getting him a secured credit card with a large limit.

Betty asks…

Repost: Credit score keeps dropping- should we consolidate?

Would it help if we consolidated the rest of his debt or should we keep trying to handle it ourselves?

If we do pay off all these old debts, would it even increase his score?

What are some other ways we can raise his score?
We only have 1 credit card, which is in my name and I got it before we were married. That will be paid off next month. My only debt is federal student loans and an auto loan.

We are paying off these old debts in order to buy a house in the future. I have negotatied with one collection company for 50% of the account. We would like to do this again, but will not have the means to until the end of next month.

I was not sure if the non-payment of these accounts was lowering his score, that is why I was asking about the consolidation.
Thanks Judy! I really appreciate the info.

dj answers:

Paying old debts will NOT increase your score.
It could actually reduce them since you are re-setting the date.
An item stays in collection for 7 years after your last payment.
That payment you are making is re-setting the date - therefore lowering the score a bit.
Unfortunately the FICO does not improve when you pay down a collection item.
It is based on history.
I think this should be changed - but that's just an opinion.

Do you have any current credit cards?
Pay them down to below 20% to 30% of their available limits.
This will boost your score - since carrying high balances can destroy a score.
If you can - try to pay off credit cards in full each month for top credit.
As you know - it is 100% myth that carrying balances is good for your rating.

IF YOU WANT A HOUSE SOMEDAY:
You must pay off these collection items even if it lowers your score.
FHA, like other major mortgage lenders do not go by the scores.
They will review your reports in detail, along with your salary, down payment and other factors.
They will make their own decisions based on the reports - not the scores.

That is why you see people with low scores get homes -
They cleaned up their credit reports and paid off all passed debts.

It is also important to pay off those items.
Collectors tend to take you to court before that 7 year period ends.
They can go after accounts, garnish wages, and take away assetts.

Get a book on Credit and Debt Repair from your library or bookstore.
Did you know you can negotiate settlements?
You could pay less than 1/2 of what you owe those collectors if you have cash at hand to pay immediately.
With one time charges such as medical bills or cell phone bills you can request a PAY ON DELETE.
This is usually done if you pay the full amount of the bill - they will remove the item from the report and clean up your score.
Pay on delete can not be done with items that reported to your reports monthly.
Just ask here how to do it right - if you have the cash on hand.

In conclusion:
Consolidating will not help you - it will just put you more in debt.
Just pay your bills on your own.
Since taking out another loan to pay collection items will not increase your score.
In fact - it will lower it
1. It will be a new loan - new credit reduces scores
2. It will increase your debt to income ratio
-------------
Leave the auto loan and student loan as is.
Continue paying.
These are installment loans - not bad for credit.
Credit cards are revolving debt - bad for credit if balances high.
/

Mandy asks…

which score we should monitor? what is fico?

I have some confusion...it says you can have 3 credit score and it also says check myfico.com ...myfico is 4th credit score or what? or its like all 3 credit bearau is using fico score?..please explain
also tell me which is cost effective website to monitor your score as well as get unlimited online reports from all 3 bearaus?...I know about annualcreditreport so dont suggest that..it doesnt tell you your score..it gives only reports correct?
what is your opinion about bankofamerica privacy assist premier which cost 12.95us$ a month?

dj answers:

A FICO score is a credit score developed by Fair Isaac & Company. Credit scoring is a method of determining the likelihood that credit users will pay their bills. Fair, Isaac & Company and the credit bureaus do not reveal how these scores are computed. The Federal Trade Commission has ruled this to be acceptable.

Credit scores analyze a borrower's credit history considering numerous factors such as:
* Late payments
* The amount of time credit has been established
* The amount of credit used versus the amount of credit available
* Length of time at present residence
* Negative credit information such as bankruptcies, charge-offs, collections, etc.

FICO scores / Credit Scores can be obtained from any of the three Credit bureaus - Experian, Trans Union and Equifax.

A recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.

I hope the information provided is useful to you.

Regards................

Increase Credit Score 20 Points

Posted on February 25, 2012 by dj

Linda asks…

why will paying off accounts more than 3 months past due lower my credit score?

I was looking for ways to increase my credit score on Bank of America Privacy assist (it tells you how to improve your credit), and it said that if I pay off my 4 delinquent accounts (which add up to about $1,020) it will decrease my credit score by 20 points.

Why would paying off acounts decrease my score?

dj answers:

Your score will be lower due to the history of your accounts.

Be aware that paying off a collection account,or closing an account on which you previously missed a payment, will
not remove it from your credit report. Your FICO® score will still consider this information, because it reflects your past credit pattern.

Your better off to make sure you pay them on time every month and pay more than minimum. If you can pay them off now, go ahead, but there will be no instant score improvement because history accounts for 30% of your score.

Here is a link to find out more

http://pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/money/creditscores/your.htm

All about FICO scoring.

Jenny asks…

Credit score increased by 2 points in 1 week, am I on my way?

I just got my first credit card to try to build my credit back up because when I turned 18 I made some mistakes. I'm almost 20 now and my credit score went up 2 points in 1 week, is this good, not so good, or like a whatever? I was at 523 now at 525 how long do you think it'll take to get to say 600?

dj answers:

Well, 2 points in one week is indeed going up, however, I believe that you can get it to go up a lot more.
First thing is first, with your credit card, don't charge more than what you can pay cash for every month. Also, don't charge more than 50 percent of the credit limit (I've seen estimates as low as 30 percent, this is debated though).
Next, go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com jump through all the rings of fire and hoops, and pull a credit report from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. Check that all of your creditors information is accurate. If it isn't, it's time to dispute it!
There are several answers on here to how to dispute incorrect information, so I am not going to go into that here.
If you haven't paid your creditors, it's more than likely not going to disappear through a dispute. If you can get anything taken off this way, your credit will be readjusted and will rise significantly. Good luck.

Daniel asks…

Has anyone ever used a credit restorer services to help increase their credit score?

My credit is ok, but i would love for it to go up about 20-30 points. I have already raised it 80 points this past year and it is now ok I want it to be closer to 700.

dj answers:

My parents attempted this a few years back, and nothing good came of it. They ended up filing bankruptcy. I would recommend just continuing to to what you have been doing to raise your score. It seems as though it working for you.

Betty asks…

How long will it take to improve my credit score?

I have 1 open collection and 1 open judgement. My score is a 600 but I need at least a 620 to get a VA loan. How long will it take for my score to increase at least 20 points if I pay them both off? And what else I can do to improve my score over next next few months?

dj answers:

?redit repair work?d fine to fix my credit. They disputed and removed lots of bad items from my credit report. I used this service - credit-report-free.totalh.com

Sharon asks…

I'm 20, and my credit score is 727. How does this compare to others my age, and how does it effect me?

So, I got my free credit report from American Express today, and my score is 727. Is this low bracket excellent category? I feel as though I fully understand the fundamentals of a credit card.

Now, I am looking into auto loans. How would this effect me if I were trying to get an auto loan?

I have 4 credit cards on my report - two of them are low limit cards for stores, and I have not used the card yet. The other two are my American Express and Student Visa (i don't really use visa anymore) but my credit limits are 2,000 and 1,700)

So, are these other cards bringing my score down? I don't want to move into the "good" category at any point in life... Or will my score increase as I own these cards for longer and continue to pay off the balance every time? (my student visa is from 2007, and my AMEX is from 2008)

dj answers:

Well looks like your credit history is not that old (according to the dates you have given) and that could be the reason why you score is not close to 800. But considering you are only 20 and with score of 727, I am jealous. You are doing very good. As you said, keep the cards and longer and pay off the balance very time, that will do the trick.

If you apply for any loan whether auto or anything, it will impact your score because they will put your credit report and you will have a fixed payment loan but if you make payments on time on that loan, that will eventually help you also in improving your score.

Best Credit Score Company

Posted on February 24, 2012 by dj

Maria asks…

Which is the best credit card company is for first timers?

I just applied for a visa check yesterday and the banker told me that since I am twenty four years old that I should started building up my credit. She also told me that a secured credit is the best way. Which credit card company should I go with:
American Express
Visa
Mastercard
Discover
Chase
Citi
or Capitol One

anything is good and is the best way to keep credit score good? any tips thank you

dj answers:

You are 24, you may get a credit card without using a secured account which can cost you $50 / year.

First try a major card like Chase or Bank of America credit card.
If you get turned down, then:
Try store cards like Target, Jcpenny, Sears or even a gas card.
They will cost absolutely nothing to use.
The trick is to pay in full each month - so you never pay interest.
This also boosts your credit since you are showing usage.

Remember, carrying balances does absolutely no good to your rating.
In fact, it can ruin it. Pay in full each month, and remember that employers check.

A secured card will be your last resort if all these other "free" cards turn you down.
You pay a certain amount into an account, and you use a bit of that money each month, and replace it in full at the end of the month - and for that they charge you!
If you use it correctly - it will turn into a credit card in as little as a year.
Use it unwisely - not pay in full each month for what you use - and it can take years.
/

Sharon asks…

What is the best company to use to get my credit score?

There are many. Freecreditreport.com seems popular so does Equafax. I had a subscription to one years ago, but I cannot remember which company I used. It was like $14 a year to get a monthly update on your credit status....

dj answers:

Experian.com for about 7 bucks
If you want the fancy one for about 15 bucks go to myfico.com
Be careful of scam sites that will ask you for all your personal information.
/

Susan asks…

what is the best credit card company to go with to fix bad credit?

im trying to boost my credit score up to an 800 or as high as i can get it, and i know credit cards are the way...but whats a good company to go with, or who has the best offers for bad credit.

dj answers:

Well, you got SOME replies but here's some great reading, might take you a while though:

http://credit-cards.ebookorama.com

http://finance.ebookorama.com

http://credit.ebookorama.com

http://credit-repair.ebookorama.com

if you get any luck please don't forget about me lol, hope it helped you!

Paul asks…

what credit company gives you the best score?

equifax?
transunion?
experian? what is usually higher?

dj answers:

They each have their own rating system....TransUnion uses a lower range of numbers in its rating system...so it's typical for the TransUnion score to be lower than the Equifax score....Of course this does not translate to a worse score...

Thomas asks…

Whats the best company for credit consolidation??

I'm trying to consolidate my credit cards. Whats the best company? Will it screw up my credit score?

dj answers:

Do not go with any debt consolidation company. It will ruin your credit. The company contacts your lenders and makes a settlement. Such as a lower APR and possibly paying less then you owe. The lender/credit card companies will then close your account. Most of the time they will not reopen these accounts after you are done with debt consolidation. All of these accounts will show as closed by creditor and sometimes even show they are not paid as agreed. This looks as bad as a bankruptcy and will follow you around for 7-10yrs.

Your Credit Score Matters

Posted on February 23, 2012 by dj

Ruth asks…

Does your credit score matters when you apply for an investors loan?

When buying a house in the USA.

dj answers:

Yes it matters very much. Have a score of 800+ You are approved in an hour and your interest rate is less then the person with a 700 score. Your credit history is your reputation and indicates how reliable you are when paying your bills

David asks…

To rent a car, does your credit score matter if you are using a credit card?

Hi there,

I'm cleaning up a bad credit report but, in the meantime, I wasn't able to use my debit card to rent a car because my credit score is not great.

Do you know if using a credit card makes a difference? I try never to use my credit card unless I absolutely have to now.

Thanks for any input!

dj answers:

I don't think any of them check credit reports, you just have to be over 25 and have a valid credit card.

Donald asks…

When Renting Does your credit score matter or is it just your Renters Credit score ?

Looking for some one with actual advice on this legally .. Is Your Credit report / used for Renting Credit .. Or is it Just your Renters credit ... Just trying to see if they cross affect each other ...

dj answers:

There is no "renter's credit".

They look at your credit score + youre renter's history (IE, calling up your old landlords).

Sharon asks…

Why does your credit score matter so much when you are applying for a position at a financial institution?

I speaking of any position; from answering calls to being a financial adviser. Maybe you have made some irresponsible decisions when you were younger, but should that effect your future? I mean you've already learned from your mistakes by having to pay for all of the debt...

dj answers:

Maybe they are looking at the person's current state, especially if they will be handling money. If someone has a very poor score, they might think that the person is more tempted to steal.....yep I think its unfair and biased too!

George asks…

I wonder what matters more, your credit score or the contents of your credit report?

dj answers:

A persons profile is much more important then a simple score.

In my 11 + years of working in finance I have seen tons of people with very high scores that were based on 1 credit card and a couple of student loans.

While this generates a great number score wise, it doe's not show the ability or willingness to repay loans.

Credit Score Scale

Posted on February 22, 2012 by dj

Linda asks…

how can you raise a credit score quickly by about 50 pts. I know paying bills on time is the way to go but if?

a person has only 1 payment that is reportable then it could take a long time to raise scores. suggestions please.

also what is the scale for credit rating? thanks.

dj answers:

Pay off 90% of your outstanding balances, that makes a huge difference.

Ken asks…

How Good A Credit Score of 579?

I just checked my credit score with Intelius and Experian said my score was a 579. Is this a fair score or a good score? the scale was not clear? Does anyone know credit ratings

dj answers:

This should help you to understand how credit scores work..

FICO scores from 300 to 850 and Vantage scores from 501 to 990.

Here is the breakdown for both systems.

Vantage Plus system scores from 501-990.
A-901-990
B-801-900
C-701-800
D-601-700
F-501-600

FICO system scores from 300-850.
Elite-740-& up
Prime-700-739
Preferred-660-699
Standard-625-659
Sub-prime-624-& under

FICO is the only one that matters since it's the one that all major lenders look at.

So as you can see it depends on if your looking at a true FICO score or a Vantage plus score.

Now in your case since you got your score from Experian and they use the Vantage Plus system so based on the chart above your score is very very bad.

Sorry man, but the truth is what it is.

Carol asks…

whats consider fair credit score? how does the scale work?

dj answers:

Here is a must read on credit scores.
Http://www.creditscorequick.com/2008/03/what-is-credit-score.html

Lizzie asks…

I live in Canada - anyone knows how I can find out my credit score and what is the scale, i.e. 1-5, A-Z, etc?

THANKS.

dj answers:

Yes. You can mail a request for a copy of your credit bureau to Equifax (written request with copies of two pieces of identification). They are the main credit bureau in Canada.

Equifax Canada Inc.
Consumer Relations Department
Box 190 Jean Talon Station
Montreal, Quebec
H1S 2Z2

or you can fax written request (with copies of two pieces of identification) to:
514 355 8502

It's a free service if you do either of these ways, if you want to order from their website (www.equifax.com) it costs about $20 or so I think.
There are a few things you need to know when you're reading it, these can all be found on their website, they have a credit educate area that goes through it all. It's really useful.
Hope this helps you...

William asks…

How is your credit score calculated? (see additional details)?

I just now started building credit by using the Military Star card. After the first month when they report to the big three credit bureaus, how much does your credit score go up? In other words if you make a payment that is higher than the minimum, how would that effect your credit score on that silly point scale?

dj answers:

This should help you to understand how credit scores work..

FICO scores from 300 to 850 and Vantage scores from 501 to 990.

Here is the breakdown for both systems.

Vantage Plus system scores from 501-990.
A-901-990
B-801-900
C-701-800
D-601-700
F-501-600

FICO system scores from 300-850.
Elite-740-& up
Prime-700-739
Preferred-660-699
Standard-625-659
Sub-prime-624-& under

FICO is the only one that matters since it's the one that all major lenders look at.

So as you can see it depends on if your looking at a true FICO score or a Vantage plus score.

So to answer your question, the amount of your payment only effects your score if it decreases your debt to credit ratio, the best way to pay credit cards is to always pay them in full every month this over a 18-24 month period is what builds your score.

Hope this helps and good luck.

My Credit Score Free Uk

Posted on February 21, 2012 by dj

Lisa asks…

I signed up for free credit score but forgot to cancel?

i signed up with quick credit score.co.uk and didnt realise that you had to cancel within in 10 days if you dont they take £19.95 out of your account plus id signed up for something else for £19.95 if I didnt cancel within 10 days. ive cancled the agreement and have kindley asked for my money back as £39.90 is alot of money to me to waste, and they said no. is there somthing i can do to get my money back????

dj answers:

Not going to happen buddy.

You failed to cancel within the allotted time so all they did was charge you exactly what they said they were going to.

Only one to blame is the person looking back at you from the mirror.

William asks…

credit score uk, experian or FICO?

I've just applied for my credit report through experian (creditexpert.co.uk), I was told that I'd have to pay 5.99 to get the score (the report is free)

I want to know if the score they give is the score used by banks and other credit lenders when deciding whether to give credit. Is this the same as the FICO score. I am just a bit confused as to how this whole thing works.

thanks
Toni and Favor, thanks for your quick responses.

Just to let you know I'm in the UK, not USA.
You said the best way to improve my credit score is to pay off my credit card on time. I usually pay it off well in advance, usually having a positive amount on my credit card, does this make any difference. I know most lenders in USA use FICO, but is it the same in the UK.

Thanks again
Hey Toni, Thanks again.

Any idea if UK lenders also use the FICO score, or if it is different.

Thanks

dj answers:

Get the Fico score.
Consider all others faco scores.
Any lending institution will use the Fico.
Also read the fine print to the $5.99 offer.
This could very well be a monitoring system that will charge you monthly.
And it is extremely hard to remove.

One more note: Major lending institutions will go by your credit reports.
They will check them and go by them.
Don't sweat the score too much, sweat the reports even more.
Know that for great scores the best thing you can do is pay your credit cards in full each month.
And make sure there is no inaccurate information on all your credit reports.

Do you really need your score?
Here is how you can get a range of your score at no cost (if you don't need a loan right now).
Google:
Fico Score Esitmator
Credit.com Credit Score Calculator
-------------------------------
Are you paying your credit card balance in full BEFORE the bill arrives in the mail?
Before the closing date?
This could be harming your credit - very badly.
Credit card companies report their balances to the bureaus on the closing date.
The date they send you out the statement.

IF you pay before the closing date your credit reports will show $0
If you pay more and have a credit balance they will still report $0.
$0 means NO USAGE - no credit reporting can be done.
Wait to get your bill in the mail and then pay in full.
Never use more than 30% of your available credit limit at any time during the month.
Ex: $1,000 limit - never use more than $300 at any time during the month.
Ask another question about this so you can get more answers.
Very good second point.
You NEED to show usage on your cards to get good credit.
Again with $0 reporting - no usage.
Just get your bill - pay in full.
A future lender will have no idea if you are paying interest on the cards and you get rewarded with great credit...
/

Lizzie asks…

why should i have to pay to obtain my credit report and credit score?

the information held on a credit report is mine so why should i have to pay.in the usa congress passed a law stating any person can request a there own credit report free of charge.why can't we in this country(uk) in a country riddled with personal debt you'd think the same law would be passed here.

dj answers:

You no longer have to pay for your credit report.

Since your score is generated using a proprietary formula, you'll still have to pay for that.

But Federal Law now allows consumers one free credit report per year per CRA (credit reporting agency).

James asks…

how would i get my money back from rewardsnow.co.uk scam artists ?

i signed up for a free credit score with quickcreditscore.co.uk and they needed my card details to verify who i was, then charged me 40 pounds in total 20 for a credit score that didnt even work and 20 for a subscription to rewardsnow.co.uk i dont have a clue what that is !!!

dj answers:

This is rewardsnows contact info:

Adaptive Affinity Ltd
Cavendish House
369 Burnt Oak Broadway
Edgware, Middlesex
HA8 5AW
United Kingdom

As they are a UK Ltd company, they could be legit - I suggest you write to them (recorded delivery) and explain your problem (or get local Trading Standards to do it for you)

Steven asks…

Will claiming insurance affect credit score?

Bought a phone(on contract in the UK) that came with first 3 months free insurance. The phone broke yesterday by mistake. The phone is not very expensive- only worth about £100 brand new. If I claim the insurance, will my credit score be affected, and if I make an insurance claim, will this get registered to my credit profile?

Many thanks for your answer in advance.

dj answers:

Credit Score Needed For Fha Loan

Posted on February 20, 2012 by dj

John asks…

was denied fha credit loan based on credit historynot actual credit score.?

we were denied because credit history not our credit score. We have paid most of our debt off and have credit cards that have helped our score climb tremendously. Our lowest score is 622, and you only need a 620 for approval on a FHA loan. We were approved up front but later denied by underwriting. Has anyone else had this problem, or have any ideas on how to help?

dj answers:

Buildcredit.ifastnet.com - try this service to boost you credit score before getting loan. After credit repair you can get the loan with minimal interest rate.

Ken asks…

Can I get a FHA loan with credit score of 587?

We recently had some errors that were cleared up on our credit, but the score didn't go up where we thought it would. We were looking to be pre-approved for a mortgage. The lender we spoke to said to get a FHA we would need atleast a score of 600. We have a bankruptcy that has been discharged for 2 years, 2 car payments (last late payment was 21 months ago), and no credit cards. Is it worth shopping around?

dj answers:

In 3 months that late payment on your car will drop off.
This is going to get you close to the summer selling season for homes, so have one picked out.

Whatever you do, do not open any new credit until after you purchase your home.
New credit reduces your score.
If you have oodles of cash lying around - pay off one of your cars.
A paid off loan will bring up your scores in 30 days.
/

Jenny asks…

What kind of credit score does one need in Illinois to get a FHA loan?

My hubby and I been trying to buy a home and we have a low credit score. We have been trying to build it up for years and nothing seems to get it to go up much. We have an auto never been late on. Everything I have read you need a 620. Is that mininum for all the loans such as FHA, USDA, etc? Thanks for any comments or opinions!

dj answers:

620 seems to be the right number.

Pay off the car loan and any credit card bills you have... If you don't have a credit card:

Get one and only use 10% of the credit line every month and pay off in full when the bill comes. Do this for one year and your score will be where it needs to be.

P.S. Your bank will have the most favorable terms in credit cards for you... They know you and how you pay your bills... Because they handle your checking account... And are most likely to give you a credit card with good terms and high limit.

(Not because they are the good guys... But because they can get the money you owe.... From your accounts in case you default. Little known fact about banks... If you owe them too long... They will take it from your account automatically...)

Richard asks…

does anyone know a lender in Maine who does truly not need a minimum credit score for an fha loan?

dj answers:

An FHA loan has the same requirements nation wide and with all lenders.

Mary asks…

Can i cosign for a fha loan with a credit score of 508?

My daughters trying too get her own home but needs a co signer is it possible for me too help her

dj answers:

Not with that credit score. Sorry. Good Luck to your daughter.

Credit Score

Posted on February 19, 2012 by dj

Sandy asks…

Credit score?

How much will my credit score increase if I were to pay off 50% of my credit cards within a 2 month time frame? My current credit score is 568 and Im hoping to increase it to 700 Im planning on getting a car by the summer and I want a great credit score...

dj answers:

To go from 558 to 700 will take several months of good hard credit management.

Pay your credit cards down to under 30% of your limit and keep them there.

Use them for every day things, never exceed 30% of your limit and always pay in full before the due date.

I did this with 2 credit cards and raised my score over 150-points in 12-months.

Daniel asks…

credit score?

I have a credit union visa credit card wth credit limit of 15K$
And Amex card with credit limit of 10K$
I spend around 3k$ including both the cards in a month.
Before the due date, i payoff all the amounst -3k$ ( no finance charges ).
I dont have any other loans.
I have credit score 690
what is the possibilty i will have the score of 850 in 2 years from now with this pace.
Is the high credit limit will affect my score ?

dj answers:

No your credit wont' go up that high in 2 years and it don't need to. Once you get in the 740 range you are elite anyway so theres not much difference between 850 and 740. The way you are going about it, I don't think it's going to increase much and all depending on the way your credit is reported to the unions it may appear on your fico score you are always at a $0.00 revolving balance therefore it has nothing to base good payments on.

Donald asks…

Credit Score?

I have 2 credit cards on my credit report that I've never used. I've heard that the less credit you have avaible the higher your score will be (less cards/credit to max out on). But I've also heard that if you close accounts it lowers your score. Should I close them?

dj answers:

This is a tricky question given the information because different financial institutions score different characteristics on credit bureau reports (CBR's) differently. For instance, a mortgage company would probably weight prior mortgage history more strongly than anything else in the score, auto-finance company weight auto payment history the strongest, etc.

Generally speaking, revolving credit lines and how they are paid are arguably the best indicator of how someone will pay any other type of credit line/loan. If these are the only 2 items reporting on your CBR's currently, it would be a better idea to use one or both cards moderately and pay the balances off monthly (or keep low balances and don't ever let them approach the high credit limits) to show responsibility in paying your credit lines. This will also help your 2 creditors raise your credit lines.

How does raising your credit limits help? One of the stock, built-in formulas affecting basic credit scores (provided by the credit reporting agencies, themselves) is the ratio of outstanding credit balances (all added together) versus the sum of high credit limits. If this ratio gets out of hand (i.e. All credit cards are approaching being maxed out or are over their limits) your score will definitely suffer severely.

Other factors are any collection accounts, bankruptcy(ies), repossession(s), or anything else derogatory (payments late in excess of 30 days+). I hope this helps.

P.S. If you are rich, I wouldn't really worry about it!

Sandra asks…

CReDIT SCORE???????

i have a credit score of 615 and im trying really hard to get a motorcycle or a loan for one please somebody help me with a site or somethin i can go to, please no answers about how i should pay my bills on time to get better credit, im a college student i have none

dj answers:

I wouldn't recommend getting a loan off the internet. If your bank won't finance you for a loan, then you're just going to have to do what I know you don't want to hear. Try to pay the things you currently have off before adding to your debt.

Maria asks…

credit..........score?

I have to pay 2,654dollars and the lady said if I pay 1,900 for a settlement she would say it was paid all...but my question is will my credit go back up once I paid the full amount

dj answers:

No. The ONLY way to help score a lot is if you request in writing that they promise to remove all mention of the debt from your credit report upon you making payment. Once they remove this (get it in writing, fax, whatever) your score will go up that day. If they do not remove it your score will go up slightly but it will take time and a paid "Collection" account will still be listed.

My Credit Score For Free

Posted on February 18, 2012 by dj

Ruth asks…

How come my free credit report didn't include a credit score?

That number people throw around, like 630 or whatever? I saw one offer for it, but it cost money. Isn't the score free?

dj answers:

Credit reports are free. Credit scores are not free. Your credit score is a separate product that you must buy. Any firm offering a “free” credit score will want your credit card numbers for their monthly credit monitoring service. There are free credit score estimation services at http://www.creditkarma.com and https://www.quizzle.com/ - These are only estimations and NOT the real FICO score.

If you want the real FICO score, you'll have to pay for it. It's never free. You can buy your FICO credit score for a one-time fee of $15.95 at http://www.myfico.com
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You can get a free credit report at http://www.annualcreditreport.com - This is the real free site to get your credit report once a year without a credit card.

Susan asks…

Is there a credit card company that lets you view your credit score free?

I had a Washington Mutual credit card and the page actually let me view my score for free any time I wanted before Wamu went bankrupt. Do any other credit card companies offer this service? It was really useful.

dj answers:

The score you were viewing wasn't your real score anyway. It was an estimate. Anytime you go to order your "free credit report" do it from the credit bureaus themselves. That is the only way to get a real and true credit score. Any other company offering that isn't giving you the real thing.

As far as other credit card companies that do that, I don't know of any offhand. It never hurts to call around and ask. If WAMU did it then surely someone else is doing it too.

Richard asks…

Where can I get my credit score free? BUt i dont want to sign up for anything or put in my credit card?

I have tried a few sites but they all make you sign up for something 'free' for a few days then u get billed and you have to put in your credit card! i just want my dang score lol please help me!

dj answers:

As far as I know there is no place on the net people can get their scores for free.

You can get you free reports at www.annualcreditreport.com once a year but if you want your score you must pay for them.

Linda asks…

How can I get my FICO credit score free?

Is it possible to learn my FICO credit score for free on line? www.myfico.com is not free. You have to make a purchase.

dj answers:

All of the sites that market themselves as "free" for obtaining your credit report and score will enroll you in a monthly subscription service for credit monitoring which can range from 14.95/month to 29.95/month. Generally you have between 14-30 days to cancel the service and you're not supposed to be charged. Unfortunately, many consumers have founds that once these companies have their debit/credit card numbers, cancelling can be difficult. Also the credit score provided is usually only an estimate and may differ from the score your bank obtains when you apply for a loan.

Lisa asks…

what website can i go to to find out my credit score for free without listing credit card info?

I dont have a credit card but surely you dont have to have credit card to have credit right? So i went to every website i could think of to get my credit score free but they all asked for a credit card. so if there is any website that i can go to to get my free credit score without listing a credit card please help me. i went to annual credit report and it didnt help so please some other website that is free without credit card info

dj answers:

AnnualCreditReport.com is the only legitimate free website. If you’re trying to access your score and not just your history, you have to pay for it. That data is not available for free. That’s why you’re being asked for a credit card everywhere.