Five Big Credit Repair Faux Pas
Sensitive Scores
Oh those darn FICO scores. They are so sensitive. Sometimes it feels like you have to walk on eggshells to keep them happy. Here are a few little things that can really send them into a tail spin. Credit repair isn’t really all that hard when you know what not to do.
Faux Pas: A social blunder or indiscretion, implicitly unintentional. From the French for false step.
Running Up Revolving Balances
This is a little boring, but you would be amazed how many brilliant people get completely blindsided by this little credit repair faux pas. Your credit cards can deliver awesome credit score benefits, but if you use too much of the cards capacity your scores can tank by 100 points, or more (ouch that hurt). Big cards, little cards, it does not matter. Credit cards with small limits are easy to max out and must be managed with care lest you wake up and find your scores in the hole on the day you need to go car shopping.
Making Late Payments
I guess you already know this, but it is worth emphasizing. A single late payment in the middle of your credit repair effort will cause your scores to fall – a lot. It is very disappointing, especially if it happens by mistake. And mistakes happen. We see it all the time, people get busy, things come up, a bill gets lost in the drawer, and one little payment gets missed. Take precautions against late payments! You can create a budget, consider setting up auto-pay, write down due dates in your calendar, whatever it takes.
Getting the Timing All Wrong
Credit repair is practical. Ultimately it is about what you are going to do with your credit; finance a car, buy a house, or you name it. You have got to plan your purchase. When it comes to your credit scores, timing is everything. You should get into a defensive mode about 90 days before you need your credit scores to be at their best. During this 90 day period you should reduce revolving balances, avoid new credit activity, and behave yourself!
Ignoring Collection Letters
Collectors cannot report a collection without sending you a collection notice. If you do not want the collection account to show up on your credit report, you can send a debt validation letter to the collector. They cannot report until they have validated the debt. And you would be surprised how many collectors can’t validate. Oh, don’t worry. If you are in our credit repair program we will do it for you. Just send us the collection letter when you get it. If you are not in our program, what’s up with that?
Ignoring Your Credit
The sand is not the place to stick your head. Credit repair is truth time. There is nothing that cannot be dealt with in a constructive manner. Literally millions of people go into virtual hiding after a financially rough period. There are ways of confronting your credit issues and restoring your inner (and outer) peace. Time is money and every day you wait is expensive. Credit repair works. Give a call.
6 Responses
What if I don’t have collection notices because it’s been so many years since I have tried to get credit that they don’t have my current address or know where I am, do you take my information and find these things out about me to help me with my credit?
Hi Nina, You need to have a credit report to get started with our credit repair program. We cannot run it for you. If you request your credit report it will update your address info, which will become accessible to creditors and collectors. This can trigger new collection activity. If your obligations are old enough they may be beyond the statute of limitation, which means that you would have no cause for concern. But if you are not prepared to be confronted by collectors you might want to call and discuss your situation prior to running your credit. We should be able to help you make an informed decision.
When I was in college I was offered three credit cards which I used for books, etc. When I got out of school I was not able to get a job right away and my cards went to collection. That was about 5 years ago. All of this time I was afraid to look at my credit. Looking through your website has inspired me to face up to the past. Thank you!
Hi Betina, Thank you for the nice words! Just take that first step and the rest will come easy. If you need help, give a call.
I did everything right and my scores were really good. When I applied for a mortgage I found out my scores had fallen over 100 points. It was really bad news. The reason turned out to be that I used my credit cards about three months earlier and the credit bureaus STILL showed the high balances. I waited a few weeks and the mortgage broker ran my credit again and my scores were all the way back up. That’s how important timing can be.
Hi Patel, Good point. Anyone planning to make an important loan application needs to plan well in advance. As you discovered, timing is a key ingredient when using credit repair to prepare for a loan! Thanks for the contribution.