Ways to Improve Your Credit Score

Discover ways to improve your credit score without the help of a consumer credit agency.

Dealing With Bad Credit
If you're saddled with a bad credit score and tired of having it affect your life, it's time to take action. To get moving on your credit repair, you'll first want to request a copy of your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus, Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.

Once you have those reports in hand, look over them to see what is negatively impacting your score. Expect to see two different kind of negatives: those you are responsible for and those that are errors. To repair your credit, you'll need to put in the work to correct both types of negatives.

Correcting Credit Report Errors
If you find errors on your credit report, you'll need to dispute them. To do so, simply send a letter or fill out a report with the bureau reporting the error. This report should detail the specific mistake you are disputing and include any proof that you have to support your claim-proof of on time payment for a bill that is reported as a late payment, or proof of payment to an account that is reported as never paid.

Once the credit bureau receives your claim, they'll have 30 days to investigate your dispute. If they can't prove that the information is accurate within that time, it will be removed from your report.

Fixing Your Credit Missteps
If you find negatives on your credit report that you know you are responsible for-late payments, non-payments, etc.-you won't be able to wipe those mistakes away as easily as the reporting errors. To get rid of these types of negatives, you're going to have to work to prove your creditworthiness.

Here are several ways to turn your credit score around:

• Make all of your payments on time.
• Pay off any accounts in collections.
• Get current on all of your delinquent accounts.
• If you can't afford to pay all of your bills, call your creditors to negotiate lower payments, a new payment date, or a lower interest rate-whatever it's going to take to get you caught up. One phone call could prevent your accounts from being reported as delinquent.
• Pay down your balances. If you are at or close to the limit on any of your credit cards, this is hurting your score.
• Slowly close out accounts as you pay down your debt. Store cards often have a negative effect on your credit, so those should be the first to go.

Credit Repair Mistakes to Avoid
As you work to boost your credit score, be sure to avoid these credit repair don'ts:

• Don't close out accounts until they have been paid in full.
• Don't close out too many accounts. You should aim to keep your used credit at 50% or less of your total credit limit.
• Don't close out your oldest credit cards. These help your credit history by proving longevity.

Credit repair takes time, but it isn't hard to do. Take a look at your credit reports and form a plan to get your credit back on track.