I am trying to raise my credit score...?

Question

Are there any suggestions of how to do so, drastically within a short period of time? I am currently between 530-560. I have been paying off my debts over the last 5 months, but I only have 2 doctor bills on there and the rest are revolving, good-standing accounts (car payments, 3 credit cards).

I have zero balances on the cards...I use them on a bi-monthly basis for credit reporting puposes. I pay the balance completly when I do use them. I am still considered a "first-time" buyer bc I am in my early twenties.

Answer 1

I have some good news, and I have some bad news.

The good news is this: I have some tips that will raise your score.

The bad news is that it won't raise drastically in a short period of time.

I did some research by looking at a previous answer you had and it seems that you're trying to raise your score in order to finance a high-end vehicle. (Beamer 3-series, Benz C-class, and a Pontiac Solstice, right?) And you have credit cards with BofA, Nordstrom, and Capital One. My first question would be what the limits are on those cards in relation to what the balances are. Now, you may think that the cards are in good standing, just by paying on time, the real question would be how much are the balances? If you're using more than 25-30% on all your combined available credit for all 3 cards, then that could hurt your score. Also, how long have you had those credit card accounts? It takes at least a year or so of on-time payments to have a real positive effect on your score.

Another thing, is that if you said that you've been paying off your debts, it sounds like that you had delinquencies in the past, which has gotten your score to where it is. Depending on how old the 2 doctor bills are, they're hurting your score. And although you've already have paid off some of the debts, the negative payment history has already done its damage to your score. The only way to to help your score whenever you pay off debts that's been in collection is to negotiate to pay it in exchange for it getting removed from your report, which isn't impossible, yet it's hard to do. (I posted several links below to a site that explains how this works)

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/debt/settle_debts.shtml

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/debt/neg_rating_after_settle.shtml

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/debt/CanCreditorSue4SettlementDifferences.shtml

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/debt/ActualDebtSuccesses.shtml

Hopefully when you try to settle those doctor bills you may be able to get them removed which should help your score.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Get everything in good standing, don't close any old accounts that have no balance, this includes savings and checking accounts and credit cards that have no balance. The most drastic measure would be to hire a law firm that deals in these matters and have them work on removing any false statements that appear on your credit history. I know that this can really work but it will take more than a month or 2, closer to a year to really improve your score. Also, don't apply for new credit cards, every time you do this your credit scores drop a few points.

Answer 3

You will probably need to continue to pay on those loans for at least 12 months in order to see something happen. Also, make sure that your credit utilization percentage (percentage of used credit with available credit) is low. Probably in the 25-30% range.

But I would encourage you to not even use the credit cards any longer. Those revolving credit accounts (the credit cards) are like snakes in the grass. I would encourage you to cut the cards up and use only cash to pay for things. I mean, you won't need to worry about a high credit score if you use your own money for everything. The only time you need a high credit score is for more credit (debt).

Answer 4

Pay down the credit cards to no more than 30% of your limit. Paying them off completely is even better.

Pay off the doctor bills and try to get a written agreement in advance to remove the negatives in exchange for payment.

You really need a minimum of 2 years of consistent, on time payment. But remember that creditors look at more than just your score. They look at everything on your credit report. Paid off old debt might not increase your score much, but it looks a lot better to a creditor.

Answer 5

Go to the website below and read ALL of it! This site is all about raising your credit score and repairing your credit reports. It's hard to say how your credit score wound up in the poor category without seeing your complete credit report from all 3 agencies and I would suggest you purchase a credit monitoring service.

You are free to check your credit report as often as you want to without affecting your score, but this is the only way to find out what is going on.

I got my credit score to go from 480 to 709 in one year with the help from this site and a couple of the sponsored links and I highly recommend them!!

This is a long issue that we can't go into a lot of detail here, but once you see the site I sent you to, you'll know why.

Answer 6

You need to retire as much debt as possible, by paying it off. It may take a few years, but close accounts you don't absolutely need and get the balances down to what you can pay off each month. There is no quick way to get into the 700's and a bankruptcy or collection will take years to erase from the record. If your score is in the 500's, what you need most is credit and lifestyle counseling, not a scheme to raise your score..... which will only get you into more trouble.

Answer 7

The key is 33%. Make sure all your revolving credit is paid below 33% of the total credit line, and this will give you a boost. Stay away from 30 day lates. You can request from a mtg. broker to do a rapid rescore for a small fee if what you're trying to do is purchase a home, or refinance after everything is below 33%..

Answer 8

Can you put a utility in your name? Cable, electric, gas, water, cell phone--all these are good ways of building up credit by making timely payments.

Answer 9

creditinfocenter com