How long does it take to fix a credit score?

Question

I am about $5,000 in debt (NONE OF WHICH IS FROM A CREDIT CARD...I'VE NEVER HAD ONE) and my credit score is a lot lower than I would like it to be. Most of my balance is either medical or utility.

If I pay a $100 balance with a doctors office how much will it raise my score? Or in general if I pay anything off on my credit report how much does it raise the score?

Answer 1

Paying $100 out of $5000 will not raise your score significantly...here is the FICO score breakdown

35% Payment History
30% Amounts Owed
15% Length of Credit History
10% New Credit
10% Types of Credit

If you cleared up the $5000 that would help, but you have two other problems...your payment history is not good (you basically stated the only things on your report are negative) and the types of credit are not good.

What you need to do is get some credit and use it responsibly... this means charging no more than 50% of the available credit and making all payment on time.

Answer 2

is no guaranteed cure for a poor credit score however, the best and most efficient way to improve your credit report is to make your payments on time
In order to increase your credit scores you want to really focus on your balances on your revolving debt such as credit cards, home equity lines of credit and such. Your ideal target is to keep your balances at approx. 20-40 percent of your available credit limits. Being maxed out on your credit scores can be very detrimental to your credit score even if you continue to make all of your payments on time.

Apply for credit less frequently. Large numbers of inquiries will likely lower your score.

If your credit score is low, look at what is causing this. Review your entire report and note any incorrect entries. If you have any incorrect information reporting, contact the credit bureau and work on getting it fixed.

If you do pay off a credit card, be sure to keep the account open. When computing your credit score, the bureaus love to see accounts that have been open for an extended period of time, and have a zero balance.

Answer 3

What helps your credit score when there is debt, but no credit cards involved, is getting trade lines removed and BUILDING credit. This can be done by disputing your credit reports and by adding revolving accounts like credit cards, and even installment accounts. The only way you will benefit from paying off the bills is negotiatiing with the creditors. If they agree, in writing, to remove the item from your report if you pay, you can do it. If not, don't. Overall, you can get your score drastically improved in just a few months - but only if you know what you're doing.
Good luck!

Answer 4

Im working on cleaning my credit. The best thing to do is make sure all debts are not past the statutes or 7 year limit of reporting on credit report. If it is new medical and utilities you might consider a credit consultant, someone who can negotiate the bills into lower payments. You can avoid them if you are diligent in letter writing and you can find sample letters online for creditors and negotiations to minimize payment and also removal if they agree to the offer you give. Have all in writing and confirm before proceeding. Also, a credit consultant might offer a consolidation that might be easier to focus on one payment. It will take some time and it is time consuming to take it on yourself but cheaper. Also if you have high medicals, consider looking into government grants for they are supposed to be set up for aiding people in such situations. Just some advice.

Answer 5

3 years

Answer 6

You need to check out this video on how to increase your credit score by using a 100% legal loophole. Here is the video URL: http://www.creditscoresecret.org

I was able to get to 595 from 489 in just one day and from 489 to 748 in just a few week; that's pretty fast in my book. Good luck!

Answer 7

can someone tell me what is the right answer for this question?