A credit attorney believes that individuals can raise their credit score in as little time as three weeks. He continues by stating that it is a matter of becoming educated and then focusing on the best, quickest and most reliable course of action to take.
6 steps to a better credit score:
1. Know your credit limits. Borrowers should know their credit limits and evenly distribute balances to help increase their score. Better yet, pay off the balances in full to obtain the highest score increase. Be sure to report your credit limit on the amount that was paid off. If no limit is reported with the payoff, credit scoring software will presume that the account was maxed-out.
2. Bring balances near zero. Current credit scoring software scores more favorably to those that report near zero balances. Balances that are over 70% of available credit hurt overall scores the most. The next tier would be 50%, followed by 30% of available credit. The way to maximize your score here is to evenly distribute credit balances amongst cards.
3. Do not cancel your cards. Borrowers are advised to leave accounts open unless the account was opened less than 2 years prior, and the borrower hold over 6 credit cards. Credit scoring software assumes that people who have held open accounts for a longer period of time are less a risk of defaulting on monthly payments.
4. Clear your accounts of late payment records by asking nicely. Make the effort to clear your credit report of late payments. Contact your creditors and request a good faith adjustment that would remove all late payment records from your account. The account holder should be prepared to make the request in writing stating that the records are to be removed upon the receipt of all outstanding payments. Not all creditors will oblige, but it is worth the try. It is important to not be rude or unclear about what you are asking for.
5. Get rid of outstanding collection accounts. Only do this if the collection agency agrees to delete the account in return. Otherwise, the early payoff could hurt your overall score. The borrower should request in writing a statement from the agency that the account was paid off and deleted from their record. Not all agencies will agree to this, but it is worth the try.
6. Pay off all past due amounts for accounts that are not in charge-off status. Following that, the borrower is advised to get rid of all charge-off and lien that are less than 2 years old. Charge offs that are older than 2 years do not affect your score as negatively as ones that are less than 2 years old.
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