Perhaps you have been out of work or have incurred medical bills exceeding your ability to pay. Whatever the reason, your credit score has plummeted, hampering your efforts to get new credit. Fortunately, there are several ways to quickly boost your rating so you can make the purchase you need at a fair interest rate.
Know Your Score
Your credit score is the main criteria lenders use to grant or withhold funds. The only way to know your score is to get your reports from the three credit bureaus---Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Under federal law, you may get a copy each year from all three. If you have not obtained your report in the last 12 months, you can do so for less than $10.
Cleanse Your Reports
Review your credit reports carefully. First, look for errors like someone else's records appearing on your report. If you have paid off an account, make sure that is mentioned. Often, a report will show a certain account has gone to collection, when it has not. That error alone can cost about 100 points.
Lower Your Debts
Try to pay off as many of your debts as possible, while increasing the amount of your credit lines. The purpose is to reduce the percentage of credit used from the total amount granted. A good rule of thumb is to keep this figure below 30 percent, which will raise your credit score. In this vein, do not apply for new cards, which will lower your score. Instead, ask your current card companies to increase your credit limits.
Pay On Time
Get into the habit of sending payments to your creditors when they are received. If possible, pay off the entire balance because that will greatly help raise your credit score because you are acting to lower the amount of credit you have been granted. If your due dates are inconvenient, simply ask for different dates.
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