7 Credit Boosting Tips Most People Don't Know
1. Scan Through Your Reports And Make Sure There Are No Errors
According to a 2013 FTC study, 1 in 4 consumers reported they found at least one error on their reports.
Delinquencies and derogatory marks can have a huge impact – making up 35% of your FICO score...
And just one single error on your reports can drop your scores by as much as 100 points or more!
So you can never just assume your reports are accurate. It's your job to not only know if there are errors, but to correct them when you find them.
Because if you don't do it, no one will.
2. Update Your Personal Information With All 3 Bureaus
Ask them to remove old addresses and incorrect personal information.
This includes variations of your name, social security number, birthdate, telephone number(s) and employers.
Making this one 10-minute phone call could boost your score by 30 to 70 points, and increase your chances of removing other invalid, or unproven accounts associated with those old addresses.
PRO TIP: You may find you get an uncooperative agent on your first try. Politely end the call, wait 5 minutes, and call back. Eventually you'll get someone who will do what you ask.
If you’re unsure if your personal information is correct, online sites like Credit Sesame could help you verify before you call the bureaus.
3. Dispute Any Inaccurate Info, And Items You Don't Agree With
Send the creditor listing the inaccurate mark a letter, demanding that they validate the item they are reporting negatively.
Send the letter certified, so you have a date-stamp and proof they received your letter.
Within 30 days, by law they have to mark the item as disputed on your reports. If they don't they've broken Federal law, and you can call them on it.
If they do mark it disputed, but they fail to validate the debt, then by law they have to remove it from your credit report.
Inaccuracies can be anything from account number, to balance, to a completely wrong item on your reports…
4. Pay Down Your Cards To Less Than 10% Utilization
What most people don't realize is... one of the biggest secrets about raising your credit score is…
The More Available Credit You Have, The Higher Your Scores Go Up... According to FICO, there are five main factors that go into calculating your scores…
- Payment history (35%)
- Amounts owed (30%)
- Length of credit history (15%)
- New credit (10%)
- Credit mix (10%)
So if your credit cards are mostly maxed out right now... it's literally crushing your scores...
Do absolutely anything you possibly can to get your credit utilization under 10%, and your scores will jump up in a big way.
If you’re looking to pay off your debt, some apps simplify your credit card bills to a single low interest rate payment.
But if you're not in a position to pay down your cards just yet, you can do the next best thing…
5. Increase Your Available Credit, By Making This One Move
Yes - it sounds strange - fix your credit by getting more - but it's true!
And for the exact reason we talked about above, doing this can help your scores a ton.
But, what about denials? How do you get more credit if you have low scores?
Well what most people don't know is - there are certain sites online that will give you a revolving line of credit for a small fee.
One example is Credit Sesame - where (unless you have an active bankruptcy) - you can use their site to get a revolving credit line of up to $5,000 - no matter how low your scores are now.
Meaning if you currently have $5,000 in credit lines, and they're all maxed out, making this one single move can bring your utilization % from 100% all the way down to 50%.
How it works: fill out some basic information on Credit Sesame, and they’ll recommend you a few credit lines you could qualify for.
Upon approval, make a deposit based on the amount of credit you want and you’ll receive a revolving line of credit of up to $5000 - that will report on your credit reports!
6. Hitch A "Piggyback" Ride With A Friend Or Family Member
Find someone responsible - a friend, relative, your brother-in-law (ok maybe not your brother-in-law). And ask them if they'd be kind enough to add you as an "Authorized User" on their credit card account...
You may think they'll laugh you right out of your chair when you tell them this "brilliant" new idea of yours… but you can ease their mind by letting them know
This DOES NOT allow you to charge anything on their account! It doesn't give you access to view anything personal of theirs.
And you don't even get a physical card. So most likely - if you haven't done anything to make them mad recently - they will understand and agree.
This one little trick can raise your scores by as much as 60 points.
NOTE: Make sure the account you're being added to has a clean history of payments before doing this.
7. Use This Little-Known 'Loophole' That Can Raise Your Score By 102 Points or More
The credit industry purposely complicates things for us all, so they can continue to make record-breaking profits.
That’s why you can think of this next secret as a Consumer Protection Process.
Because this little-known 'loophole' found within the consumer credit laws, can stop you from being unfairly treated, and erase inaccurately reported negative accounts from your credit...
After using this unusual method, some are now reporting score increases of up to 201 points.
Recently, a California mom named Alison Hilton used this hidden 'loophole' to not only raise her scores by 193 points - but she was also able to get approved for her dream cars.
After running into financial hardship, she stumbled upon a strange video online that changed everything for her family.
The video was posted online by an expert who actually worked inside the credit industry.
After getting fed up with watching so many Americans suffering the effects of low scores, this expert decided enough was enough.
He quit his job and made it his life's mission to help consumers fight back against the unfair practices of the credit industry overlords.
He recently released this step-by-step video showing how almost anyone can start using this 'loophole' to begin improving their scores fast.
The video quickly went viral, and after being viewed over 2 million times, is now helping thousands of people raise their scores, and take back control of their financial lives.
You can watch this eye-opening video here and see how you can use this 'loophole' to start raising your scores too.
Article Inspo @joywallet
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