A dispute, in the context of credit reports, is essentially an attempt to correct credit report inaccuracies. Having an accurate credit report is important, because having poor credit—regardless of whether the information is correct or not—can negatively affect your ability to get a loan, get insurance buy a house, buy a car, or even get a job.1 It is estimated that as many as 75% of credit reports contain some incorrect information.2 Continue reading
Credit
What is a credit report?
A credit report is a detailed record of your complete credit history; it details every single relevant credit inquiry and statement for your entire life time. Your credit report is maintained by companies known as credit reporting agencies or credit bureaus. The three most famous credit bureaus are Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. Creditors and other money or product lenders use your credit report and your credit score to determine your risk as a borrower – if you have a poor credit score or a poor credit history, the lender will not allow you to borrow money from their establishment because they deem you as too high risk. You are allowed one free credit report from each of the reporting agencies once per year by Federal law. Continue reading
What is the Credit Repair Organizations Act?
Many credit companies are available for credit repair but not all are created equal. Some credit repair companies are legitimate and provide helpful resources. Continue reading
Benefits and Qualifications for a Debt Management Program
A debt management program is one of the essential tools utilized by credit counseling organizations. It provides for a structured repayment of debt at favorable terms. You might pay a fraction of your normal interest payments, if you qualify. Continue reading
Effects of Debt Balances on Credit Scores
Credit scores reserve 30% of the weight in their formulas to account for your debt balances. Put simply, the more you owe, the more likely you may default. Continue reading
The ideal credit utilization ratio is under 10%, not 30% as commonly believed
Your credit utilization ratio is responsible for about 30% of your credit score. It is second only to payment history in importance. There are five main components of credit scoring.
If you are trying to improve your credit score, then paying attention to your credit utilization ratio is important. Even so, it helps to understand what an ideal credit utilization ratio actually is. Continue reading
Duration Benefits the Long-Term Account Holder
Having no or slow credit can be difficult to climb out of. This is especially true since 15% of the FICO credit scoring formula is based on the length of your credit history. This means that recent graduates or anyone under the age of 25 will find it especially difficult to achieve higher credit scores. Fair Isaac reports that most FICO High Achievers” opened their first revolving account 19 years ago on average. Continue reading
How Does Payment History Affect Credit Scores?
Payment history on credit accounts is the single biggest factor that contributes to your credit scores. In fact, 35% of credit scoring inputs are based on your payment histories.
Payment history measures your on-time payments for consistency. Specifically what the credit bureaus are looking for is that your account status remains in “current” status for each account. As long as your account remains in that current status, it will continue to report as a positive account. Continue reading
What are the basic credit scoring components?
Credit scoring is based on certain aspects of your financial behavior. Some elements are weighted much higher than others, so it is important to understand how your credit is scored if you want to improve your scores. Continue reading
What is credit utilization rate?
There are several ways to improve your credit score, but perhaps none are as easy as improving your credit utilization rate. Credit utilization rate is defined as the ratio of total credit card debts divided by the limit on your credit card. For example, it is suggested that you never have a credit utilization rate over 35%, which would equate to $350 of debt for every $1000 on your credit limit. Continue reading
powered by PFN Design Studios