What the quickest way to repair my credit. I currently have a 530 credit score.?

Question

Hello to all. I am looking to raise my score to the 775 as soon as humanly possible. I understand each case is different, but would value any general advice out there. Thanks for your time guys.

Answer 1

Pay ALL your bills ON TIME and DO NOT apply for any credit anywhere until your score gets to where you want it. Get your credit balances down to less than 50% at least and lower than 30% if possible.

Answer 2

Why a 775? I only say that because a 720 will be just fine. Here are somethings that you will want to evaluate on your report:

1. How high are your balances to allowable credit? If you have a credit card with a limit of $2,000 and you are max'd out, that drops your score. You want to make sure that your balances are 50% or less then your allowable credit. Some people think that they have to pay off things entirely to get a benefit, not true. Though, if you have the resources to do so, it is not a bad idea.

2. Pay all of your bills on time, even the small $15.00 a month payments that don't seem important. Everything counts and a good pay history will improve things greatly

3. DO NOT try to settle any collection account that is older then 2 years. When you have an account in collections, your credit score gets impacted negatively. As time goes by, and you do nothing about it, the impact that has on your score will lessen. Now, if you were to go back and settle an old delinquency that you have not done anything about in years, it will impact you all over again because it becomes currently active all over again. I know that might sound strange but that is the nature of the beast. Of course, you will want to consider paying off anything in the future but if you want to raise your score now, do not bother with old collections.

You may want to try a credit repair organization as well. They are costly but will get the job done quick. Pull your report with the credit bureaus directly. This will make it easier and faster for them to update your information.

Best of luck to you, I hope that helps.

Answer 3

Here are some steps to get your started.

First, make sure all the information on your credit report is accurate.

Second, try to pay off all or any accounts that are currently in
collections or make payment arrangements with the creditor to pay off the balance monthly.

Third, any credit card that is over 50% of the available credit line should be paid down to under half of your total credit line. Your credit score is lowered when your available balance is over 50% of your total credit line.

Finally, if you have bad or no credit and have no credit cards try to obtain two credit cards and make sure all of your monthly payments are made on time. This will help increase your credit score. If you cannot be approved for a unsecured credit card, obtain a secured credit card.

Answer 4

Okay I was told by the Loan officer at a bank that the best way to lift your score is to apply or have a credit card and buy stuff like groceries and then pay it all off when the bill comes in. She said that is what she does to keep a good score. Don't go over what you know you can't pay. And make sure to pay it off on time all the time. It works like a charm. We are doing it so we can purchase a house in the near future.

Answer 5

I would say you are trying to get you credit score up so you can borrow more money, right. Why would you want to borrow more when you have had credit problems? Not judging, but this might be why you have bad credit. Your credit score is reflection of your repayment history, which is probably effected by personal decisions related to work, spending, not having insurance, or just bad luck.
Stop trying to work the system. It is a waste of time.
Regarding your question. If you do not make any mistakes, limit inquiries, sparingly use any credit you do get, it would take 5 to 7 years to get a 775 credit score.

Answer 6

This may not be possible. Getting over bad credit is a lot like getting over a hangover. Time is the only real solution. My advice: Pay off all debts (esp. credit cards and other high interest loans), make good on any bank accounts that may have been closed in bad standing, and don't be late on any accounts that you leave open. That done, you're still going to have to wait 7 years for a bad mark to be removed from your credit report.

Answer 7

First things first. A 530 score is a different score for each bureau. There are three major bureaus and they each have their own scoring system.

FICO ranges from 300-850
Vantage ranges from about 500-990
PLUS ranges from 330-830

Know which scoring system you are working with so that you know which bureau you need to work with.

Second, pull your credit report. I wish people understood how important it is to do this at least once a year. Pull a report from each of the three main bureaus. You are entitled to a freebie every 12 months (2 per year if you live in Georgia). It's a law. The website for that is www.annualcreditreport.com*****. That site is set up by the government for people to get their free reports. It doesn't even ask for a credit card number and you don't have to enroll in monitoring or anything like that. Go over each report with a fine-toothed comb. Dispute everything that is inaccurate. I have seen a lot of cases in which simply removing inaccurate information made a huge difference in a person's credit score. For quick reference, bad stuff stays on for 7 years, good stuff and bankruptcy stays on for 10 years. Sometimes, when you pay something bad off, like collections, you can negotiate with them that they remove the information altogether. Removing collection agency information is a GREAT thing. Also, you can go to the www.ftc.gov website to research credit law. That will help you to understand what and how they can report on you. After you finish disputing everything that's wrong, get the contact numbers for any old bills that you have and pay them off as fast as possible. Make sure that once they are paid, the creditors report that you've paid the debt.

Also, if you have creditors with good things to say about you and your payment history, try to get them to report to the bureau that you need the high score at if they don't already.

After you have made sure that your report is accurate and presents you in the best possible light, apply for a credit card. Try to space your applications out so that you have no more than one every two or three months. If you have a friend or family member that you trust enough, ask them to add you as an authorized cardholder on an account they have that has a pristine payment history (you may have to promise them that you will give them the card when it arrives and you will never use it). Be careful with this, though. If they screw up, it reflects on you as well.

If you have credit cards already, make sure that you pay your balance in full every month, or pay as much of it as you can. DO NOT EVER GO OVER YOUR LIMIT and try not to go close to it! They make a record of your highest ever balance...if you screw that up, they will make sure that everyone who looks at your credit report knows what you did. They also report every month whether or not you made you payments on time. Making payments on time raises your score. Your debt to credit ratio needs to stay low. That will also raise your score.

It's going to take time to raise your score. I wont lie about that, but it's not impossible to accomplish. I know people who have scores over 600 (on the plus score scale) and they have bankruptcies and late payments and everything you can imagine on their records. Be patient and be dilligent. Cut back on your lifestyle if you have to, and you just may have to. You can also contact a local credit counselor and have them look at your report and offer advice. Most of them give advice for free.


*****This is a ONE VIEW website, so make sure that you do not even sit down to the computer unless you have a couple of hours to devote to this, in case you wind up with a lot of things to dispute. If you close your browser or your page times out, you do not get another freebie for 12 months. Also, you can pull your credit report as often as you like and it will NEVER impact your score.

Answer 8

Everything you need to repair your credit is at
http://www.thecreditrepairmanual.com

Answer 9

close down any credit lines you have open that you dont use.