Credit Help

[tunatartare]

Don't open up store credit cards. Just use your Visa/Mastercard/Amex/Discover. Having a lot of credit cards lowers your credit score. Also pay your bills on time and in full. That increases your score.

[Intense1920]

www.creditboards.com is a GREAT credit resource.

[Rain Man]

^^^Creditboards is an okay resource if you want to repair your credit by letterwriting, but the best source if you want to take the litigation route and really sock it to 'em, is artofcredit.com (currently offline for maintenance, will return soon).

[Intense1920]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

^^^Creditboards is an okay resource if you want to repair your credit by letterwriting, but the best source if you want to take the litigation route and really sock it to 'em, is artofcredit.com (currently offline for maintenance, will return soon).

I can only speak for myself and say the I got great results following what I learned on CB. To each their own.

[NOWorNEVER]

Originally Posted by Intense1920

www.creditboards.com is a GREAT credit resource.

I concur! This site has helped me TREMENDOUSLY. There is a wealth of information there that I would have never known.

[divainred]

Originally Posted by Diovanka8

Also, I am looking to get my credit score without it affected my actual score. I have heard people say that when you check your score it usually reduces it to maybe 5-8 points. Can I get some help?

Thanks in advance!

You are not penalized when you pull your credit report/score. If you have too many other people pulling your score for you or making inquiries then your score can go down a couple of points. However, after 2 years, multiple inquires drop off of your report.

i.e. I was buying my first home and with all of the loan officers and mortgage companies pulling my credit, it reduced 10 points. So at one point, I had to write a letter stating that I was trying to purchase a home and why my score dropped in such a short period of time.

Also, you are allowed to pull your credit from all three credit agencies at least once a year for free. I don't have the website, but I think it was posted by someone else. However, if you want the FICO score associated with it, you might have to pay an additional $5.95, but it is worth it and you have access to your score and report for 30 days.

[Diovanka8]

Originally Posted by divainred

You are not penalized when you pull your credit report/score. If you have too many other people pulling your score for you or making inquiries then your score can go down a couple of points. However, after 2 years, multiple inquires drop off of your report.

i.e. I was buying my first home and with all of the loan officers and mortgage companies pulling my credit, it reduced 10 points. So at one point, I had to write a letter stating that I was trying to purchase a home and why my score dropped in such a short period of time.

Also, you are allowed to pull your credit from all three credit agencies at least once a year for free. I don't have the website, but I think it was posted by someone else. However, if you want the FICO score associated with it, you might have to pay an additional $5.95, but it is worth it and you have access to your score and report for 30 days.

I pulled my report at the beginning of the year. So now how can I get the FICO score? I thought the score would have been on the report but it wasn't.

Thank you for replying to my initial question.

[Kimmie1913]

Another site I found helpful (and found on GC in another thread on credit) www.creditinfocenter.com

[divainred]

Diovanka8, you can go back and pull your credit report again, unfortunately this time you will probably have to pay. Make sure you pull all three reports and at some point you will be given the option to obtain your FICO score. Choose that options and then you will have the three respective scores from the three agencies.

It is important to pull all three scores because they can vary between the three. However, that is supposed to be changing soon.

Good Luck and kudos to you for trying to take control of your situation. Many people become so overwhelmed that they take the "outta sight, outta mind" approach.

[NOWorNEVER]

Originally Posted by Diovanka8

I pulled my report at the beginning of the year. So now how can I get the FICO score? I thought the score would have been on the report but it wasn't.

Thank you for replying to my initial question.

You can sign up at Myfico.com or join a site sponsered by one of the bureaus. I am a member of truecredit.com. It is only $14.95 per month. I can access all three reports whenever I want plus all 3 scores. They also alert you of any changes to your credit report.

[SummerChild]

Does anyone know how to reduce the effect of student loans on the fico score? I am told by mortgage lenders that lots of student loans do not adversely affect the credit, however, when I pull my credit, I have fairly good scores but one negative rating provided at myfico.com for my scores is "balances too high on installment accounts." I only have student loans and do not have any other installment accounts that are not paid off so these student loan balances are clearly affecting my credit score, which will affect my mortgage interest rate even if my debt to income ratio is fine.

Does anyone know what might be done? There are about three different loans from the same lender b/c each year I got a loan, they listed it separately on the credit report. Would it help if I asked the lender to put all three loans together? The balance would still be just as high obviously.

I'm annoyed b/c a sister can't even take loans to get an education! I have lots of student loans and due to the low interest rate, it doesn't make sense for me to pile a ton of money into paying them off over the next ten years or so when I could invest the money or pay off my credit card bill, use the extra money to purchase a home, etc.

Anyone got any tips?

SC

[Mercedes_Girl]

Originally Posted by MightyQuinn

I have been trying for years to get a charged off credit card debt corrected with no success! To make a long and probably familiar story short, when I was an 18 year old freshman I got a Visa credit card, charged it to it's limit, graduated, paid the minimum payment for a while then stopped paying it. It's been soooooooooo long that it hasn't been on my credit report for years! I've tried to get in contact with Visa about the matter and they said they had no record of the debt so right now I'm at a complete loss as to what my next step should be. Luckily for me that was the only credit card I had in college and the only credit card I've had in my life that has a bad payment history attached to it. My credit rating is good but I can't seem to get it any higher lately. The only way I remembered I even had that card was when my financial planner recommended that I get a credit card because I didn't have one at the time. Visa sent me an offer in the mail but I was denied a credit line and wasn't given a reason as to why. It was then that I remembered about the card in college and figured that had to be the reason why. My husband and I have successfully financed quite a few big items over the years and his credit rating is great so this seems to be the only road block for me. If you have any good advice please help a sister out because I am truly at my wits end!

I know you posted this long ago but I'm fairly new and I'm cruising the forums right now. I don't know if you have received the correct information by now but let me say this: your financial planner was right in telling you to get a credit card; it's sorta ironic, people think credit cards will ruin their credit but it's the MISUSE of those cards the ruins credit and you have to have one to establish some sort of credit. Either that or a car payment is the best way to establish credit. Also, you say you've graduated so you have student loans right? That's contributes to building a solid credit history as long as you're paying on time every month.

Now as far as the Visa card you had in college, check your state's statue of limitations because if it's been years since you have paid on it, then legally they can't collect on it. For example, most states' limitation is between 3 and 5 years, if the statute has expired, then you don't have to pay that - that sounds like the case if Visa is saying they have no record of it.

HTH