How to Increase Your Credit Score With One Short Phone Call

Credit bureaus compute your credit score using a combination of factors: your debt to income ratio, the number of late or missed bill or credit payments on your report, the composition of your debts, and the length of your credit history. Not all of these factors can be improved with one phone call, but creditors can be surprisingly forgiving if you just contact the relevant companies. Nothing will damage your credit score more than avoiding communication with creditors. Many are willing to negotiate away negative entries in return for payments or other positive credit behavior.

Instructions

1

Request copies of your credit report from all of the major credit reporting bureaus (Equifax, Experian and Transunion) either using the web forms on each company's website or by contacting the customer service departments for reports by mail. All American citizens are entitled by Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations to one free credit report for each bureau per year via the Annual Credit Report website.

2

Review your credit report for any negative entries. This includes reports of late payments from bill companies, late credit cards, loan payments, and mortgages. Major negative entries will take more than just one phone call to correct, but late payments and other minor mistakes can often be erased with a single phone call.

3

Select one minor credit transgression to negotiate off of your credit report. Contact information for the creditor or bill payee should be located on the entry in your report. The more recent the negative entry on your credit report, the greater the chance that you'll be able to correct it promptly.

4

Contact the company that you want to negotiate with, prepared to explain why you made a mistake in your payments. If you've had a good record with that company - or have a relatively good credit rating overall - that will increase your chances of a successful negotiation. First, ask if the company will be willing to remove the negative entry in good faith. They may comply, especially if it's one of your first transgressions. If that fails, offer to make a small additional payment in return for the company deleting the late entry from your report. Once the representative accepts the deal, request that they mail you a copy of your mutual agreement to confirm it.

5

Verify that the company upheld its agreement by ordering additional copies of your credit reports subsequently. It may take some months for the positive alteration to your credit report to improve your score. You can sign up for credit score monitoring services from most of the credit bureaus or from FICO directly.