|
ZippoZ
Knomadic



Registered: 06/17/03
Posts: 13,227
Loc: Pongyang, North Korea
|
how can i fix my credit score, asap?
#8038769 - 02/18/08 04:31 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
so heres my problem,
i have shitty credit, i had credit cards when i was younger and just ran them up ,and ran out of money to pay them.
so now my credit score is shit. but i have a decent chunk of cash to work with.
so what is a quick fix to my bad credit? or is there one?
-------------------- PEACE
zippoz "in times of widespread chaos and confusion, it has been the duty of more advanced human beings - artists, scientists, clowns, and philosophers - to create order. In such times as ours however, when there is too much order, too much m management, too much programming and control, it becomes the duty of superior men and women and women to fling their favorite monkey wrenches into the machinery. To relieve the repression of the human spirit, they must sow doubt and disruption" "People do it every day, they talk to themselves ... they see themselves as they'd like to be, they don't have the courage you have, to just run with it."
|
GoodbyeOrb
Self-SacrificingPotency Tester



Registered: 04/09/07
Posts: 5,179
|
Re: how can i fix my credit score, asap? [Re: ZippoZ]
#8038805 - 02/18/08 04:39 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
htTtp://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/]http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/
|
SheerTerror
ST



Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 2,348
Last seen: 9 years, 2 months
|
Re: how can i fix my credit score, asap? [Re: ZippoZ]
#8039810 - 02/18/08 07:50 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
You should try to see if you can get a credit card, for $100 or $250 and use some money on it and always make the payments and you will get a positive credit score and then every several months you will get more points.
|
Liz
Owl Lady




Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 6,962
Loc: Massachusetts
|
Re: how can i fix my credit score, asap? [Re: ZippoZ]
#8073069 - 02/26/08 03:24 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
There isn't really a "quick fix". Pay off the stuff that you owe (collections, liens, judgments, etc) and then start building good credit. It will take probably 6 months to a year for your score to improve significantly.
-------------------- Remember, remember the fifth of November The gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot.
|
Veritas

Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,089
|
Re: how can i fix my credit score, asap? [Re: ZippoZ]
#8073481 - 02/26/08 05:08 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
I need more information before I can accurately advise you. Have you paid off your credit cards & closed the accounts? If you are currently carrying balances on old credit cards, I would advise setting up a repayment schedule ASAP. Target the highest-interest cards first, but continue to pay at least the minimum on the others.
DO NOT CLOSE THESE ACCOUNTS! First of all, this is a red flag to potential creditors who check your credit, and second because you lower your available credit vs. debt ratio, which reduces your credit score.
If you have paid them off, then there is not much to do at this point besides wait for the 7 year reporting period to elapse. Once these black marks are off your credit report, your credit score will go up. From there, you can proceed to open ONE credit card with a small line of credit ($1000 or less). Charge something once a month & pay off the balance when it comes due.
If there are items on your report which you would like to explain, you may opt to include a consumer statement. For example, when my ex defaulted on repayment of his share of marital credit card debt in my name, I included a consumer statement which explained that the debt was his per our decree, yet I had paid it off in order to protect my credit from further damage.
When someone requests and official copy of your report, your statement(s) will be included.
|
Liz
Owl Lady




Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 6,962
Loc: Massachusetts
|
Re: how can i fix my credit score, asap? [Re: Veritas]
#8075453 - 02/26/08 11:59 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
All good advice! Just 1 thing though - it sometimes isn't a good idea to pay the full balance on a card every month. Part of what you're scored on is "utilization of revolving credit" and if you have a bunch of open accounts with zero balances, you're not utilizing your credit according to the bureaus. Paying more than the minimum payment is always advisable, but keeping a balance of like 20-30% of your maximum credit line is a good idea.
-------------------- Remember, remember the fifth of November The gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot.
|
geokills
∙∙∙∙☼ º¿° ☼∙∙∙∙


Registered: 05/08/01
Posts: 23,417
Loc: city of angels
Last seen: 6 hours, 1 minute
|
Re: how can i fix my credit score, asap? [Re: Liz]
#8076634 - 02/27/08 10:30 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
That seems like a slippery slope Liz, I can't say I'd be comfortable doing it. With interest rates potentially as high as 30%, and often hovering around 12 - 25% for people in my age group (mid 20's), it seems like maintaining a balance at 20 - 30% of your total available credit would cost too much in interest. Is it really worth it, or should this only be done in preparation for requesting a loan, for example if one plans to purchase a house or car in the near future? I would want to minimize the time spent paying interest on a balance, so if it should be done in preparation for a loan, how long do you think a person should carry these balances before going out and asking for the loan?
--------------------
-------------------- ┼ ··∙ long live the shroomery ∙·· ┼ ...╬π╥ ╥π╬...
|
Madtowntripper
Sun-Beams out of Cucumbers



Registered: 03/06/03
Posts: 21,287
Loc: The Ocean of Notions
Last seen: 5 months, 23 days
|
Re: how can i fix my credit score, asap? [Re: geokills]
#8076929 - 02/27/08 11:52 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
I'm interested in this subject too, and have a question of my own.
There are several hospital bills on my credit report from 6 or 8 years ago that I have never paid. Probably 3-4K total. Recently through work I received legal coverage, so my job will pay for any legal services I make use of.
I've been considering going to see a debt lawyer and having him negotiate a settlement for these bills as I hear this is commonly possible.
Do you guys know if settling these bills for less than the full amount would have any impact on my credit score, or would they just be listed as "closed"?
Thanks.
-------------------- After one comes, through contact with it's administrators, no longer to cherish greatly the law as a remedy in abuses, then the bottle becomes a sovereign means of direct action. If you cannot throw it at least you can always drink out of it. - Ernest Hemingway If it is life that you feel you are missing I can tell you where to find it. In the law courts, in business, in government. There is nothing occurring in the streets. Nothing but a dumbshow composed of the helpless and the impotent. -Cormac MacCarthy He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. - Aeschylus
|
Veritas

Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,089
|
Re: how can i fix my credit score, asap? [Re: Liz]
#8077509 - 02/27/08 02:42 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
That's not the advice I've been given, nor what I have read from the credit bureaus about improving my credit score. There is no need to incur interest, as you will be given "credit" for paying as agreed when you pay off your balance each month. Meanwhile, your total available credit-to-balance ratio will look terrific, which also improves your score.
None of the major bureaus says that you should leave a balance on your cards in order to improve your scores, so I am wondering where you heard this advice?
Here's a link which shows the most-important factors taken into account by credit-scoring software:
http://homebuying.about.com/cs/yourcreditrating/a/credit_score.htm
Edited by Veritas (02/27/08 02:54 PM)
|
Veritas

Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,089
|
Re: how can i fix my credit score, asap? [Re: Madtowntripper]
#8077522 - 02/27/08 02:45 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
It depends upon how the creditor reports the transaction to the credit bureaus. If they list it as a settlement for less than the balance owed, it will lower your credit score.
Another tip I just received is that you should not pay off OLD debts immediately preceding your application for a loan, as the payoff transaction results in that old entry being "refreshed" to the current date. This comes straight from a loan officer & client educator, so I would guess that it is correct.
|
Liz
Owl Lady




Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 6,962
Loc: Massachusetts
|
Re: how can i fix my credit score, asap? [Re: Veritas]
#8078331 - 02/27/08 06:02 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
I was required to take classes taught by representatives from all 3 credit bureaus as part of obtaining my sign off authority as a mortgage underwriter. This is what I was told by all 3 companies. Whether that still holds true or not I cannot attest to - I got my sign off 7 years ago.
-------------------- Remember, remember the fifth of November The gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot.
|
Veritas

Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,089
|
Re: how can i fix my credit score, asap? [Re: Liz]
#8080721 - 02/28/08 09:04 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
Yes, they do update the "rules" pretty frequently. The most recent info. indicates that the bureaus take the average balance of your debts to determine the ratio of available credit. This applies whether you pay off your balance each month or not, so it makes sense to make small charges (to "refresh" that account to the current time period), and then pay them off to avoid interest charges.
In the homebuyer's education class I took last weekend, they said that the scoring rule regarding "refreshing" the date when an old debt is repaid is soon to be changed. It really doesn't seem fair for someone's score to be lowered by honoring their old debts.
|
Liz
Owl Lady




Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 6,962
Loc: Massachusetts
|
Re: how can i fix my credit score, asap? [Re: Veritas]
#8082716 - 02/28/08 06:22 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
|
|
It's true, they do change like crazy. I guess I should read up on recent changes before giving advice! I remember having a whole 3 ring binder full of memos and emails from the credit bureaus about policy changes, etc. They should take steps to make things less confusing for people. I think part of the reason that people struggle so much with credit issues is that the bureaus don't do enough to educate the general public about the way they are scored.
-------------------- Remember, remember the fifth of November The gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot.
|
|