GuttersnipeXL

My mission: To acheive the highest possible credit score I can in a somewhat reasonable time.

I understand these things take time but I was curious to know of any tricks or good practices aside from the obvious...paying bills on time... that could boost me back up to a good to high rating.

Where I stand: At the end of this month I will be 100% debt free, I've been working on paying off a credit card for the past 2 years and will finally have zero payments left. I have no student loans, I don't own a home..I rent., no car payments, etc. The long of the short of it is that I smashed my score right into the high risk zone as a silly youth and now I've been paying for it. I have a savings account where you can only find cobwebs and I've never had a checking account.

I guess what i'm asking in a scatterbrain way is...Is there anyway to expedite these matters. All I ever here is about how long it takes to get in good standing again. Maybe my sources are rotten and I'm misinformed, thats why I ask. Also it may be evident I know very little about these things, this is true. So any suggestions given will be greatly appreciated, and any questions I'll try to answer the best I can. Thanks everybody

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Cimarron29414

Your credit score is a rating of how well you handle credit (debt). If you have no debt and no history of debt, your score will remain low. The only way to improve your credit score is to go get some debt and pay it on time.

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Grancey

Do you have a good relationship with a local bank and know someone there you can talk to? One suggestion: Borrow $600 from your bank. Set up a savings account, deposit the $600 into that account and have the loan payments automatically deducted from that savings account. You will have to deposit a bit more to cover the interest. This is a start.

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Glory's Sun

with the new law that Obama signed yesterday, it may keep the creditors from preying on people now, but good luck getting credit. Annual fees, higher interest rates, and harder credit access are here to stay. Good luck with that.

nomcat

I don't know how things work in the US compared to the UK, but I was told by someone at my bank that the fastest way of building a good credit score is to use your credit card for everyday purchases (groceries, meal out, clothes etc), but pay your credit card off in full every month.

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Baraka_Guru

There are many factors that affect your score, but the biggest factor is time, unfortunately.

Just keep using credit responsibly, and your score will continue to improve.

The trick is to actually use credit, make payments on time, keep balances low (below half is fine), refrain from acquiring new credit accounts, and refrain from closing current accounts.

Next, just wait it out and your score will improve.

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Cynthetiq

You should read No Soup's thread

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/tilted-...nt-credit.html

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Lindy

I've had credit cards, bank loans, mortgages, and never felt preyed upon or gouged. Probably because I always pay according to terms and on time.
Easy credit access was one of the causes of the recent credit meltdown (certainly not the only one) and too many people were given credit who shouldn't have had it in the first place. Credit was too easily given to people who didn't understand it, didn't respect the terms and really didn't deserve to have credit.
It doesn't matter what you use your credit card for, just that you use it, and that you make regular payments, and make them on time. It's best to keep your balance under about half of your credit limit, but I think they really value a sustained period of timely and regular payments more than anything else.
Baraka_Guru speaks the truth. There is really no magic bullet for this. It will take time before the powers that be in the credit world will believe that you have really changed.

Also some useful advice here: FICO® Forums - FICO® Forums

Lindy

Glory's Sun

good for you. I'm proud of you. No really, I always paid on time and OVER the minimum payments, but I wasn't alone in the great screwing by Capital One. I had platinum status, under half available credit used and paid early and above.. yet they sent me from 7% to 27%. You want to know why?? Because "the economy is rough and we're doing all we can to ensure our customers are happy". So I happily took myself to American Express.

I have plenty of credit access, have had two mortgages on 3 mortgages on 3 separate houses and plenty of good credit because I didn't play around. I currently have a 3200sq. ft. house..it priced around $110/sq. ft. you do the math. So I know how to handle cash and credit.

I agree that people were given credit far too easily, but that is their own fault. When they would prey on college students and give them a 10k card and then charge ridiculous fees if the student missed a payment. Things of that nature. They have no business offering anyone and everyone credit but they did. So the fault is shared by themselves to some degree.

Lindy

That's exactly what I would have done in your shoes. Stupid on their part. I read somewhere (Consumer Reports, maybe) that Capital One was by far the worst of the cardsharks. It sounds like they're screwing themselves as well. Probably the reason that they advertise so heavily on TV. They need lots of newbies because they don't treat their present customers well enough to keep them around. One of my top financial priorities, even though I use credit, is to not NEED credit. If I hold up my end of the stick, I expect to be treated rationally, not capriciously. I won't tolerate being mistreated.
And I've always liked AmEx, (own some of their stock) even with an annual fee. They have a very versatile rewards program. When I lost my AmEx card in Bulgaria, I had a replacement the next day. (My small town credit union Visa took three weeks.) They've always treated me well, though from what I hear, I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of them.
Well done!
I agree, it's partly the card issuers' fault. They were trying too hard to gain market share. Lose money on every cardholder, but make it up with volume is not a good business model. So add fees as a profit center. But charging fees and actually collecting them are two very different things. I also hate to see exorbitant fees. But late and over limit fees need to be punitive or they won't encourage a change in behavior any more than a $2 parking ticket does. College kids (and I was one) still think that when they fuck up all they need to do is say "Oh, my bad! Now I understand. I'm sorry now!" and that all should be forgiven and that their actions should have no consequences. The financial world doesn't work like that. And shouldn't.

Lindy

Glory's Sun

wow, I wasn't exactly sober when I wrote that, so my mortgage statement is all fucked up

3 mortgages, 3 houses.

whew..

Yes, I've also heard that to be on the wrong side of AmEx is like being under the devil's pitchfork. Not where I ever want to be

GuttersnipeXL

Some useful information in there, thankyou everyone for the tips and stories. I'm sure it will be a help in the future ; )

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When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. HST