What To Do Once You Have Your Credit Report

Once you receive your credit report you will need to know what you are looking for. Each account listed on your report will show a few different pieces  of information about that account, which are

• Date Account Was Opened and Or Closed
• Original Issuing Lender
• Accounts High Limit
• Account minimum Payment Amount
• Accounts High Balance
• Any 30,60,90 Day Late Payments within the last 12 month
• Any Information regarding the account

Make Sure you look over all of this information and check it for errors, something as simple as the account showing the wrong high limit or balance can cause your scores to drop. If you find errors you need to write a credit dispute letter and ask that he error be corrected.

When your dispute letter is received by the credit bureaus they will initiate a credit dispute on your behalf. If the original lender cannot or will not validate what they have reported about you then the item must be removed from your credit report, this normally takes about 30-45 days to complete!

Make sure to pay very close attention to the negative accounts on your credit report because many times some of the information will be wrong which gives you the legal right to challenge that account. And if you can get enough of these accounts removed your FICO scores will increase rather quickly.

What Else Do You Need To Do Increase FICO Scores

Aside from just disputing negative items on your credit report you will also need to get yourself on a monthly budget and work hard to pay down any outstanding consumer debt you may have. The faster you can pay your debt down the faster you credit scores increase.

There are many schools of thought as the best way to pay down your debts but the one method that always works is called debt snowballing. How it is done is you work as hard as you can to pay the account with the smallest balance down and then apply the payment amount to the next smallest account. Keep going until your debts are paid off.

Keep in mind the above tips are just a basic overview of what it will take to increase fico scores that have fallen to low levels. To tell you everything that you would  need to do would literally fill a book. In fact there are many good self credit repair books and software packages available online. You can read our reviews of the top sself credit repair systems at http://creditfix123.info/blog/self-credit-repair-kit-reviews/

The Common Credit Repair Scams To Be Aware Of

The scams that most credit repair companies try and pull resolve around two tactics. One is to take your money and do little to no actual work and the other is to have their clients form a new identity, this is usually done with an EIN or by having you request a new social security number. Both of these methods are highly illegal and can get you jail time if you are caught!

A Few Ways To Tell If a Credit Repair Company Is a Scam

While it can be hard to determine what credit repair companies are scams and what ones are legit there are a a few rules you can follow to weed out the bad credit repair companies from the good ones

1. They do not supply you with the required copy of the Consumer Credit File Rights that informs yo of your rights as a consumer to obtain your own credit report and do your own disputes

2. They fail to supply you with a contract that states what they will do for you and they are very vague about how much they will be charging you and how long it will take

3. They pressure you for money before they start the service, they will often claim this is a account set up fee or other administration fee. While a small fee up front is normal anything over $50 is going to be way to much.

4. They have numerous complaints against them with the states Better Business Bureau. While it is normal for any business to a have a few credit repair companies that scam their clients will have many complaints, most of which will not be resolved.

5.  They make promises that seem to good to be true. Use your head and do not let a smooth talking salesman lead you to believe they can work miracles with your credit.

Can You Fix Your Credit Without a Credit Repair Company

The answer to that question is yes you can fix your credit on your own. And in most cases you will get faster results then a for hire credit repair company will. While it is not hard to repair your own credit you will want to at the very least get a self credit repair kit to help you understand the process because when done incorrectly your efforts can have little to no effect.

There are many good credit repair kits that you can purchase online that will give you all the tools you need to boost your credit score on your own. Most of these kits cost between $37-$99. While you can get by without them it is a wise investment and in the end the small amount they cost will be well worth it!

You should have enough savings to pay for the loan before you do this.  Pay back the loan quickly.  It will not hugely boost your credit score but it will show lenders that you are having an easier time paying your bills.  Taking out a small loan you can repay is part of the slow process of reestablishing good credit following a big financial problem.

Try secured credit if you cannot qualify for other types of credit

Secured credit is credit or a loan which uses something as collateral.  In some cases, this could be an asset like a house.  In some cases, this collateral could be money frozen in an account by the bank for just such a purchase.

If you need credit following a big problem with your credit score, secured credit may be something you can qualify for. You can use this secured credit to reestablish a good credit rating so that you will qualify for other loans in the future.  You may have to pay slightly higher interest if your credit score is quite low, but in the long term repaying this type of loan can improve your credit score.

Here are some good secured credit cards we recommend

Tips For Credit Score Improvement Using Secured Credit Cards

First you need to make sure that you do not abuse your new secured credit card. There are only two ways that you can make sure you do not abuse your charge card, do not pay the account late and do not max the account out.

While these may seem like obvious tips they are often ignored. Many people with bad credit often end up repeating the same mistakes they made before a short time after they get their new secured card. To avoid late payments it is recommended that you enroll in any auto pay program that your card issuer offers its borrowers. Being enrolled in auto pay will guarantee that your payment is never late and your scores continue to rise.

As far as not maxing your secured credit account out this is also very important if you want your credit scores to improve, in fact if your balance goes over 40% of your accounts limit your scores can actually start to quickly drop. This is an area where you will have to use self control and keep careful track of your spending or your new credit card could end up hurting your credit scores rather then helping them. If you can manage it the best thing to do is to pay off the balance in full every month and avoid carrying a balance all together.

Three Great Secured Credit Cards That Will Help You Boost Your Credit

The Rush Card
Founded in 2003 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Russell Simmons, UniRush, LLC, revolutionized the payments industry when it launched one of the first prepaid Visa debit cards. Rush Card empowers cardholders to take control of their financial futures. It’s an easy-to-use alternative to credit cards without the worry of credit card debt.

Get a Prepaid Visa RUSHCARD Now

Life in todays world with out a credit card can be challenging. Without a simple piece of plastic you cannot rent a car, hotel room or safely shop online. For most people getting a charge card is very easy, but for borrowers with low FICO scores or a troubled financial past getting a card can be difficult. For these borrowers the only option is a secured credit card.

What Is a Secured Credit Card

A secured credit card is backed by the consumers own money that is held in an account, the normal amount for a new card is $300-$500 dollars. What this does is gives the lender a source of funds that will cover any charges on the card that the consumer does not pay. Because the card is backed up by funds the approval is almost guaranteed.

How Will A Secured Credit Card Help Me Boost My Score

These types of cards report to the agencies just the same as a standard account does. The best part is your credit report does not list the account on your report as a any differently, so no one will know the difference. It will basically give you the same FICO score boosting power as a normal card.

How Much Will a Secured Credit Card Boost My Credit Score

How much the secured card will boost your credit score varies from person to person. The main concern you should have is paying it on time, never pay late and not carrying a balance on the card of more then 45% of the limit. Maxing out your account will actually reduce your score as it makes you look like a risky borrower.

Three  Great Secured Credit Cards That Will Help You Boost Your Credit

The Rush Card
Founded in 2003 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Russell Simmons, UniRush, LLC, revolutionized the payments industry when it launched one of the first prepaid Visa debit cards. Rush Card empowers cardholders to take control of their financial futures. It’s an easy-to-use alternative to credit cards without the worry of credit card debt.

Get a Prepaid Visa RUSHCARD Now