HOW LONG DOES DELINQUENCIES REMAIN ON MY CREDIT?
Most public record items remain on your credit report for 7 years. Although, some bankruptcies remain for 10 years and inquires remain on your report for two years.
WILL CHECKING MY CREDIT REPORT HURT MY CREDIT SCORE?
No. When you check your own credit report through a service that sells credit reports directly to consumers, you create what is called a “soft inquiry.” These inquiries are listed when you review your own credit report, but they are not shown to creditors and do not affect your score.
HOW DO I GET A CREDIT CARD IF I HAVE NO CREDIT HISTORY?
HOW CAN THE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES RAISE MY INTEREST RATE IF I’VE PAID MY BILLS ON TIME?
There are plenty of options on the market for people with limited credit history. Shop around to find the card with the lowest APR and fees you can qualify for. If you are having trouble being approved for cards, consider a secured credit card that requires a security deposit or ask a family member to add you as an authorized user on his or her card.
WHAT IS THE IDEAL NUMBER OF CREDIT CARDS TO CARRY?
Thanks to the Credit CARD Act, a federal law, credit card issuers can no longer raise your rate. They can, however, raise your rate on your outstanding balance if you are more than 60 days late with a payment and they can increase the interest rate on new purchases, but only if they give you 45 days advance notice so you can cancel your account.
WHAT IS A GOOD CREDIT SCORE?
Two is a good number, though you can have many more and still maintain a strong credit rating.
We recommend at least four credit accounts of different types (for example, a mortgage, car loan, a major credit card and a retail card). Keep your credit cards active by using them periodically. It’s good to pay your bill in full each month to avoid finance charges and keeping credit balance below 30% limit.
Note: If you have a lot of credit cards already, don’t close them in the hopes that it will boost your credit score. Your score may actually drop if you close old accounts.
The credit bureaus consider any score over 650 to be a “good” credit score. Credit scores from 300 to 850.
For FICO® scores, a good credit score is 670 to 739 with a higher score being very good or excellent.
For VantageScore 3.0 scores, a good score is from 700 to 749 with a score from 750 to 850 being excellent.
A DEBT COLLECTOR HAS CONTACTED ME ABOUT AN OLD DEBT. DO I HAVE TO PAY IT?
If the debt is too old, they don’t have much leverage in terms of forcing you to pay. You can simply write to the collection agency, indicate that you believe the debt is outside the statute of limitations, and instruct it to stop contacting you.
Collection items may only be reported for up to 7 1/2 years from the date you fell behind with the original lender, regardless of whether they are paid or not.
