If your credit score isn’t performing as it should – find out for free at WalletHub – there are a few steps you can take to get a rise out of your rating and keep it up indefinitely. Here’s what to do:
- Dispute Material Mistakes: Roughly 25% of people say their credit reports contain errors that negatively affect their credit scores, according to the Federal Trade Commission. What’s more, around 5% of people have an error on at least one of their major reports that’s significant enough to drive up the cost of their loans, lines of credit and insurance policies.Fortunately, there’s a defined process for disputing inaccurate credit report notations, and four out of every five consumers who following it receive some modification of their credit report. Removing an inaccurate negative record from your credit report will provide a significant, almost immediate benefit to your credit score. Just how much depends on the type of record in question and the rest of your credit history.
- Add To Your Available Credit: The amount of credit that you have at your disposal is a crucial component of your credit utilization ratio, which itself is an important ingredient of the “Amounts Owed” category comprising 30% of your overall credit score. The more credit that’s extended to you and the less you use, for each of your cards individually and for all of them together, the better it is for your score.You can improve this metric by requesting a credit-limit increase for an existing card and by applying for a new one. Opening a new account will cause your credit to dip slightly in the short term, but it should benefit you in the long run if used responsibly.
- Follow Customized Advice: Grooming a great credit score can be tough, but you don’t have to go it alone. Among the benefits of signing up for a free WalletHub account are the customized credit-improvement advice and personalized money-saving tips that we’ll provide. We’ll tell you where your credit management can improve and what financial products would lighten your wallet’s load to make your climb toward top financial fitness a bit more manageable.
Ultimately, signing up for a free WalletHub account is one of the best things you can do for your credit score. WalletHub is the only website that offers free credit scores and full credit reports that are updated on a daily basis, and our free 24/7 credit monitoring service will notify you immediately anytime an important change is made to your credit report.
WalletHub experts are widely quoted. Contact our media team to schedule an interview.