Posts Tagged ‘ credit scores ’

Deciding whether to cancel credit cards you don’t use

Dear Experian, How do you get rid of too many credit cards even if you haven't used them for years? Also, some credit card companies are charging fees. How do we cancel those cards without hurting credit scores? - DRS[ READ MORE ]

Credit score factor “proportion of balances too high,” with virtually no balances

Dear Experian, How did I get the comment “proportion of loan balances to loan amounts is too high” when all I have is a car loan with nine payments left on a 60-month loan and only owe about 15 percent of the loan amount? - SKN[ READ MORE ]

Credit scores aren’t affected by who closed the account

Dear Experian, What looks better on my credit report, closing a credit card account myself or the credit card company closing my account? - EAU[ READ MORE ]

Several months of recent history needed to calculate credit score

Dear Experian, I have "N/A" for a credit score. How do I get that corrected? I have been told by the real estate agent that it is because I have no current debt, and my most recent credit history is a payoff two years ago. I do have plenty of bad credit – hospital bills – but I don't understand why I don't have a credit score, good, bad or otherwise. - TTL[ READ MORE ]

Credit scores calculated each time your report is requested

Dear Experian, I’m planning to buy a house soon, and I just paid off a fair amount of debt and I hope it changes my score. What I was wondering is how often do the credit bureaus reevaluate your credit and change your credit score? Is it monthly, quarterly or less? And if they only do it a few times a year can you request to have your credit rescored so it shows up when my credit is ran two weeks from now? - NPU[ READ MORE ]

Risk factors are key to improving credit scores

Dear Experian, What's the meaning of "proportion of revolving balances to revolving credit limits is too high?” - ZHN [ READ MORE ]

Effect of short sale and mortgage modification on credit scores

Dear Experian, I am going through a short sale on my home and the lender is saying that if I take out a promissory note to make up for some of their loss that they will report my short sale as "paid in full -not full amount" Is that better than just a short sale, or because of the "not full amount" will my credit be dinged just as much as if I did nothing and they just listed it as a short sale? - ATH[ READ MORE ]

Negotiating reduced payments can hurt credit scores

Dear Experian, I have several credit cards and am struggling to make house payments and credit card payments. If I make arrangements with a credit card company to pay the card off with a reduced amount, will that still affect my credit? - SPS[ READ MORE ]

Education level does not affect credit scores

Dear Experian, I just graduated and read somewhere that the higher your education the higher your score. How do I inform Experian to add my bachelor's degree completion? - FNS[ READ MORE ]

Disputing information does not hurt your credit scores

Dear Experian, Does disputing information with Experian cause credit scores to lower? - MIL[ READ MORE ]

Going over the limit on your credit card

Dear Experian, What happens if your credit card goes over your limit? What are the best options in your opinion? - JNT[ READ MORE ]

Authorized user accounts can be removed from report upon request

Dear Experian, Is an authorized user responsible for the debt? If an authorized user is removed from the credit card, can the credit card also be removed from the credit report? I also read somewhere that credit bureaus will not take into account authorized users for credit scores. Is that true? - CHS[ READ MORE ]

Report shows all inquiries, but they may be counted as only one

Dear Experian, I was under the impression that if you sought after a specific type of loan, such as an auto loan, within a 10 day time frame that it would only post on your report once. However, one car dealer hit my credit three different times for the same auto loan application. Why are all three on my report? - KIR[ READ MORE ]

Closing accounts after death of husband

Dear Experian, My husband died on July 10, 2009. I am closing out nearly all the credit cards he had. How will that affect my credit score? - PRE[ READ MORE ]

When paid off accounts are deleted

Dear Experian, If I pay off a negative account on my credit report, will it be removed from my credit and raise my score or will it remain on there seven years and not change my score? How does this work? - TYK[ READ MORE ]

The effect on credit scores of paying off and closing credit cards

Dear Experian, Will paying off and closing a credit card hurt my credit score? - IND[ READ MORE ]

Impact of inquiries is minimal when shopping for a mortgage

Dear Experian, We have looked at a foreclosure property and have submitted an offer. Our mortgage credit score was 820. The problem is that the bank is handling the foreclosure sale as an auction, so I have no idea where we stand since there are several bidders. If we don't get this property then we will need to have our credit checked later by another bank. How will these two checks affect my credit score? - WKI[ READ MORE ]

Deciding when to close credit cards with zero balance

Dear Experian, I am thinking about cancelling a few credit cards that have a zero balance that I don't use but have a great payment history with. How will this decision on my part affect my credit scores? - ABF[ READ MORE ]

Effect of mortgage loan modification on credit scores

Dear Experian, I'm asking my bank to do a loan modification on my mortgage. They said that I need to be 30 days late on my payment in order to do the modification. Is this going to damage my credit? - RBL[ READ MORE ]

What a Vantage Score “D” means and how to make it better

Dear Experian, I had a credit report and score run. My score is 687. The report said my risk grade is “D” (Non-Prime).What does the risk grade mean? Is “D” good or bad. - OVE[ READ MORE ]

Impact of debt management plan on your credit report and scores

Dear Experian, Is it true that my credit is going to be trashed once I join in a debt management program? - NLI[ READ MORE ]

Credit scores could be affected when credit limit is decreased

Dear Experian, My credit is spectacular! One card has decided to lower my credit limit. I have never been late for any cards and all have been paid off. Will this hurt my score? - DRU[ READ MORE ]

Balances on business credit cards could impact your personal credit report

Dear Experian, Do balances on my business credit cards affect my personal credit scores? - SCO[ READ MORE ]

Getting reports from a credit monitoring service won’t hurt your credit scores

Dear Experian, I've heard that subscribing to a credit service that checks my credit daily or weekly can negatively impact my credit score. Can you tell me if having these non-agency credit monitoring agencies can put me in any jeopardy? - LCI[ READ MORE ]

Impact on credit scores of inquiries for an auto loan

Dear Experian, I run an auto dealership that sells luxury automobiles. I understand that multiple inquiries within a "shopping" timeframe do not hurt an individual's credit score. Can you explain what the time frame is and any other tips we can pass along to our customers? - LLS[ READ MORE ]