Advice on how to establish credit and raise your score

BILL'S ANSWER

Building and maintaining a good credit score requires diligent effort and a long-term commitment to financially sound living. There are several steps you can take to help improve your credit rating.

First, you should obtain a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus-- Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. You can request free copies of your reports by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com.

Once you obtained copies of your reports, you should carefully review them to make sure that all the accounts that are listed there, especially the listings appearing in the "derogatory" category, belong to you and are being reported accurately. Credit reports are notoriously inaccurate, with consumers frequently finding listings of derogatory accounts that never belonged to them or that were paid off years ago. If you find any inaccurate listings, you should dispute them with the appropriate credit bureau. The Federal Trade Commission provides a comprehensive guide to disputing items on your credit report, available at: FTC.gov. Clearing up inaccurate derogatory accounts may significantly improve your credit score, depending on the number of inaccurate listings you find on your reports.

Next, you state that you have a past due account, you should try to pay off that account as soon as possible. While paying off this account will not make it fall of your report, it should improve your credit by reducing the amount of delinquent debt reporting to the bureaus and preventing the accounts from continuing to be reported as delinquent.

Finally, if you do not already have a long, positive credit history, you should begin to build one. You can start by opening a few small credit card accounts, making charges on them, and paying off most, if not all, of the balances each month. By doing this, you will show yourself to be a responsible user of credit, and your credit score should improve with each month you continue to show a positive payment history. If you find that you cannot obtain a traditional credit card because of credit problems, a secured credit card, in which you deposit cash in an account as collateral for the credit line, can help build a positive credit history.

To learn more about credit and strategies to improve your credit score, I encourage you to visit the Bills.com Credit Solutions and Resources page.

I hope that the information I have provided helps you Find. Learn. Save.

Best,

Bill

www.Bills.com