nathanmedic

Each negative item on your credit report comes with a date that it is scheduled to come off. I have noticed that this date can occasionally change by a month (but not much more) as time goes on. Simply look at the details of your credit report and you will see this date.

You haven't given enough information to solve the question - it depends on the interest rate for the card. It will take you far longer to pay off the card if, for example, you have a 10% APR vs. an 18% APR.

I will tell you this - regardless of the interest rate, it will take you a long time, just making the minimum payment and there is now a special message on your credit card statement that gives you two scenarios: how much money you save by paying a number that is higher than the minimum payment.

You will both raise your credit score and save yourself money by paying more than $17 / month, not that you were asking that. ;)

Opening new accounts will have the following mixed effects:

1) SHORTENING the average age of your accounts - significantly, since you only have a few. In the short term, this is likely to DROP your score, unless you get a VERY large credit line.

2) You will increase your available credit and therefore, which will RAISE your credit score (assuming you use the card responsibly).

3) This is the most important part - much better than opening another CC account is to open a different TYPE of account; this will have the most positive impact. The best would be an installment loan - though, of course, it would be silly if you got a loan just to increase your score - especially when it's just fine at 729. You could also get something like a "charge card" (e.g., Sears card or whatever) or any other type of credit that is NOT a credit card.

Ultimately, adding accounts (even CC accounts) will raise your score, but you'll probably see a drop at first (due to the weight placed on age of accounts). As long as you can tolerate a small drop at first (20 - 40 points, on average, given your situation), you should feel fine adding them. Also, I've noticed that CK gives you an "A" for a pretty high number of total accounts: 20.

Ultimately, you should do what's best for your personal situation, rather than take actions just to affect the number, because it sounds like you are using credit responsibly, and your score will rise anyway.

Good luck!

I need to add a caveat to my previous answer: the new credit law that just went into affect BANS inactivity fees, so the letter (a) in my answer will no longer occur. But (b) is still on the table for the credit companies and, of course, shutting the account down entirely. Again, the best advice, if you don't have the current document that outlines your terms, is to call the company and ask what their terms are on this subject, as they can vary widely from one bank to the next.

The short answer is to use each of your cards once a month (and pay them off) to maximize your credit score, but read below for details:

Actually, most credit card companies don't close the account unless there's at least a year of inactivity, BUT nearly every company has been changing policies since the new credit laws passed, so you MUST check with your company to find out your terms (unless you have the newest information they are required to send you, in which it would be included) ... check each one.

Companies these days are more likely to either a) charge you a fee or b) slash your line of credit than they are to close your account when you are inactive. This is just as bad and should be avoided. I personally use each of my credit cards once a month on something relatively minor and pay it off each month - I've found this to be the most advantageous to my credit score, because you get a "paid" mark each month you do that, whereas you'll get a "no activity" (neutral) mark for each month you don't use a card with a zero balance.

Even though your score will prevent you from getting an unsecured credit card, you should still be able to qualify for a secured credit card (one where you put the money in up front). Use it once a month and pay it off. As the account gets older (and as you do), you'll see your score rise to the point where you will get unsecured offers eventually. Keep in mind that every time you get "shot down", you're putting a "hard inquiry" on your credit report, which is actually also lowering your score. So stop applying for the cards - you won't qualify for anything with a 550. Get the unsecured card and start building from there. I know it's frustrating - I was there, too. You'll be surprised at how a couple years of responsible credit will change things, though.

Also, settle your medical bills as you are able - see if they'll take payments or forgive some of the debt in exchange for regular payments (unless you sincerely believe you will win the dispute).

Finally, it is free for you to put a statement on your credit reports. Make a statement on ALL 3 REPORTS (Equifax, TransUnion, Experian) along the lines of what you put in your question. It may not help a whole lot right now, but it won't hurt, either.

The bad news is your current credit score. The good news is that it's educational and medical.

Starting with the school bills: call the company! Do not let them go into default if they haven't already, and especially don't let them go to a credit agency (you're looking at potentially thousands of extra dollars).

When you call, explain your current medical bills and any other hardships. School loans are some of the most forgiving and likely to give you options such as a) temporarily suspending payments, b) giving you a period of no interest, c) lowering your monthly payment or d) lowering your interest.

IF your school loan is in default, it will take 9 straight on-time payments (usually a fairly low amount - it's based mostly on how much you owe) to get it out, but will have a very positive impact on your credit score, because once restored, it's as if it never went into default.

No matter WHAT state your college loan is in, CALL THE COMPANY.

For the medical bills, I've found that the hospitals, etc. are a lot less forgiving than they used to be (guess it's the economy). Still, it can't hurt to explain hardships and ask for better terms, just as you would with the college loan people. Many places will take $50 a month, or something similar. Medical bills are not looked on as badly as other bills by potential creditors, but it is a myth that they are ignored. So try to resolve it if you can.

Finally, your goal is pretty low (600) to get decent terms on a house. You should be trying to get up to a 700 at least. To do this, make sure you have a few (2-4) credit card accounts, and preferably an installment account when and if you qualify (if you don't already). Use your credit responsibly - keep the line open (free of debt) and pay it off each month.

If you don't qualify for an unsecured credit card, get a secured credit card. This, too, will help you raise your score.

Good luck to you!

There's no pat "yes" or no answer to this question, but the biggest factor is how long it's been since you did that "damage" in college. If it's been a fair amount of time, you've been constant in your improvement and - a big one - if you've got 100% on-time payments for as long as possible, you'll be up for a loan.

Now the bad news. The terms won't be great, and a big, fat reason for that is the recession, the current economy - basically, the way banks are behaving right now.

A year ago, you wouldn't have even gotten the loan.

Now, you are likely to get it at between 13 and 15 percent interest. This is not "loan shark" territory but keep in mind that someone with 800 credit is probably getting about a 4% loan.

If you have any negotiating leverage - like a credit union you belong to, ex-military, etc. - use it ... sometimes just threatening to use it (if they can see you really do have access) is enough to get them to lower their terms, but I'm not a car sales expert, for sure. ;)

For a $10,000 loan, honestly, that percentage (12 to 15%) might be acceptable to you. If you pay it off quickly (more quickly than the loan terms, of course), you won't feel too much pain from it and it could greatly boost your credit score.

Finally, keep in mind that there are a lot of promotions going on in car sales right now, but they are likely to come to a screeching halt later this year as the buying environment improves (slightly) and the inventories drop (to account for less buying). This is according to sites like Investopedia and other consumer sites. They stated that the best day to buy a car for the forseeable future is Jun 30, 2010 - the July 4th sales are often more fluff than reality.

Good luck to you!

Probably has something to do with the quality of the offer, don't you think? Read the fine print on this one - it's awful. And it keeps popping up as the first (and sometimes only) offer that CK is pushing. Sorry for the pun, but I think you might be comparing apples to oranges.

Also, keep in mind that depending on what those fraudulent accounts looked like, you may have cut your open credit by a sizable amount, making your debt-to-income ratio lower and also potentially accounting for a nice chunk of the decline.

There are a couple of factors that may be affecting you Janette. If your accounts were very old (the bad ones), it might have actually had the negative effect of making the "average age of your accounts" LOWER when they were removed - thereby negatively impacting your score by some of the amount you are seeing. However, it sounds as if there are either multiple errors or multiple problems with your credit to be receiving a score of lower than 600, so it could be one of two things: a) you have not given enough time for the changes to take effect and / or b) you still have your own outstanding credit issues (including not having much credit possibly, now that these are removed). Keep in mind that sometimes, no matter who is at fault, it takes a bit of time for the records to get cleaned up and may take some time for you to rebuild.

How many accounts do you have and what type are they? Are you paying them on time? If so, you should see your score rebound rather quickly. If these do not account for your errors, you need to scrutinize ALL 3 CREDIT REPORTS to see what is causing your score to remain that low. Age of accounts is a heavily weighted item and is enough by itself to drop you 50+ points if you don't have many accounts. Don't worry though - 'cause if that's the only thing keeping you down, time will heal the credit score fairly quickly.

You can (and should) initiate an inquiry on any credit agency that is reporting what you believe to be an error. If you get your free report (once a year, from each agency), there will always be an option to question any item on the report and initiate an inquiry. However, you do not need to request your report to do this - you can contact the agency directly (TransUnion, Experian, or Equifax) if you know the account information.

They will research and take the appropriate action.

Keep in mind that if this was a joint account while you were still married (which is not what you made it sound like, but your husband may still have opened it this way without your knowledge), you may still be liable and still have it on your report.

In the meantime, you can put a comment (again, for free) on any of your credit reports stating your point of view on this particular account, and that is recommended until it is resolved.

That is a fairly high number of hard inquiries, so your score will improve as they fall off - assuming you are maintaining your creditworthiness otherwise. However, keep in mind that inquiries typically make up a relatively small weight of the typical credit score, so do not expect dramatic changes upwards. To ensure they are removed, continue to check your 3 free credit reports available at annualcreditreport.com. If you time it right, you can get a free report every 4 months, since each agency will give you one free report a year. Checking your credit report yourself is the only way to be absolutely sure they are removed (and it's free). Good luck!

No, your score is so low that even if bankruptcy drives it lower, at least you'll have hit a bottom that you can start to build back from. You can't do anything with that score, anyway. Chapter 7 is when you refinance your debt and is generally looked on more favorably than Chapter 13, in which you basically default on all possible qualified debt (student loans don't qualify, as one of the rare examples). If you own a lot of property (e.g., car, house, etc.), Chapter 13 is not for you because you have to sell assets, usually in excess of ~$6,000. Both will stay on your credit report for 10 years, but I have a 2002 bankruptcy and have been solid with my credit since then: my score is now 720. It will come off my report around 12/11 or 1/12.

For your second question, the answer is right there on your credit report - get a free copy and look at the details. Each of your creditors will have a contact phone number. This is the most efficient way but you can always use the internet to search for the companies as well - but it's right there on your credit report, so you might as well use it. :) Good luck!

Sickening to hear these comments. Shame on CreditKarma for continuing to push this so hard. That is reprehensible.

The amount your score will improve depends on tons of other factors - your other accounts, how you pay them, your current score, etc., etc. But you will definitely notice a bump upward. I was in bad shape credit wise when I brought my student loan out of default and saw a rise of about 40 points from @575 to @615. Since then, by continuing to be responsible with my credit (I have an 8 yr old bankruptcy still there), I have brought my score above 700.

I think what you might have been asking is ... if you're not paying it on time or are in default, will it hurt your credit, and the answer is ABSOLUTELY yes.

Student loan corporations are among the most (if not THE most) flexible when forbearing payments, interest, etc. If you are having any problems making payments, contact them immediately - especially before it goes into default and DEFINITELY before it goes to a credit agency (though still contacting them is helpful even if it gets that far).

Something to keep in mind is that student loans do NOT go away if you file bankruptcy (one of the few debts that don't).

If your question was merely "does it affect my credit to have a student loan" - the answer is as TauntM3 said ... yes, it positively affects it (very much so) as long as you pay it on time every month!

Nathan

Get a secured credit card (the only type you will qualify for with that score) and use it once a month, paying it on time. Pay all your other bills on time. It's going to take time to rebuild your score to a level for which you'd qualify for even a decent rate on a house (especially in today's economy). It is unlikely to happen in a year.

Good luck, however.

Nathan

CreditKarma has a tool specifically to help you answer this question - it's located under the "My Credit" and is called "Credit Calculator". This generally will HELP your credit score because paying off loans in a shorter amount of time usually gives a boost (similar to paying more than the minimum payment). However, keep in mind these other ramifications:

If you don't have another installment loan, by removing that type of loan from your total accounts, you will have a minor negative impact.

If you don't have many accounts, reducing the accounts by 1 will have a very minor negative impact.

You may reduce the average age of your accounts, which will have a negative impact.

You will increase your debt-to-income ratio, which will have a very positive impact.

Ultimately, this decision should be based more on the money you would save by paying off the SUV (e.g., what is its interest rate?) than the effect on your credit score, unless of course you have a 0% loan.

Mostly, the benefits of paying it off significantly outweigh the negatives, as it applies to your credit.

Good luck!

Nathan

And for what it's worth, I don't fully agree with TauntM3 on this one ... he's correct that the different scoring methodologies favor different elements (weight them more heavily), but not to the tune of a 100 pt. difference. I have asked the credit agencies and they informed me that, for example, Experian did not use FICO (as TransUnion did) to calculate the score, so they specifically said it is "comparing apples to oranges". It's nothing YOU'VE done wrong, and your creditors will know this.

Different credit agencies use different methodologies and in some cases different companies to produce their numbers. So a 700 "FICO" score (used by TransUnion usually) does not necessarily equal a 700 at the other two agencies, because they may not use FICO.

Creditors know what method is being used, so they will not be worried about your difference - they know all this already. It's like comparing old SAT scores to new SAT scores for colleges. :)

Your score of 740 at TransUnion indicates that you have very good to excellent credit, which means that the score of 648 at Experian also equates to very good to excellent credit. So, just double-check everything to make sure there are no mistakes, and you'll be fine. :)

With that score, you will not get an unsecured credit card or probably a loan of any type - and if you did, it would be likely from a "loan shark" who would offer worse rates than what you are paying now.

I would look at your accounts and consider a few options - call the creditors and tell them whatever your situation is that is keeping you from being able to pay the debt (e.g. unemployment, medical situations, etc.). Ask if they will either forgive some of the debt, forbear the interest or payments for a time, or at least give you a lower interest rate to pay it off. Ask EACH AND EVERY ONE of your creditors, and - sorry to be honest - but play up your hardships.

If this does not help you, ultimately, you may need to file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Investigate which is better for you - it all depends on what kind of debt you have ($14,000 tends to be more toward the Chapter 7 side, but lots of variables), what kind of income you have, your life situation, your age, future plans, etc.

In the meantime, if you can afford it, get an secured credit card to start improving your credit score - it's about all you can do with the score currently that low.

Good luck to you - I wish you the best.

You would need to give more details about your current credit situation, though a short answer is that credit basically isn't designed to go up quickly - it takes time. But it all depends on what your score is now, what type and how many accounts you currently have, how much open credit, how old your accounts are, etc. Just as an example, if your credit's at the bottom of the barrel and you couldn't qualify for jack squat, opening a secured credit card is the first and fastest way to START. If you can get an unsecured card, charge once a month on it and make more than the minimum payment (or pay it off each month). This won't make your score go through the roof in two months, but it will at least get you on the road to recovery. That's just an example if you're low though - you haven't really provided enough details yet to help.

First, don't use freecreditreport.com - the name itself is deceiving. I recommend using annualcreditreport.com - which is basically what it is imitating. There you will truly receive a free credit report once a year (potentially, three times, since you can get one each from Equifax, Transunion, and Experian). You can actually use this to get a free report (not score) every 4 months if you time it right. You have to pay for the numerical score or analysis, though.

This site, like that one is free - and gives you the score (from TransUnion) for free. They make their money from advertising (such as the credit cards they offer) and have been highly recommended by business sites such as "Investopedia".

NONE of these groups - freecreditreport.com, annualcreditreport.com or creditkarma.com initiate "hard inquiries" on your credit. Requesting or receiving reports from any of the sites (paid or otherwise) will NOT affect your credit score. They initiate what are called "soft inquiries" and you can pile up as many of these as you want.

Look up "hard credit inquiries" to see what initiates them - basically, it's when you ASK for credit - applying for a credit card, charge card, loan, etc. Also, some institutions may initiate a hard inquiry if you open an account. There are a few other instances, but none of what you asked about will affect your credit report.

Looks like the lowest CK score they have approved is 690, so it's not surprising, but it saves me the hard inquiry of applying (or even thinking about it), since mine is only 691 ... thanks for the info.