How to Help Wives with Credit Problems

Wives can have credit problems that are more complicated that single people with credit problems. Often, wives can have lines of credit that are cosigned with husbands. And if the husband is supposed to be paying the bills but doesn't, the negative impact on a credit score can reflect directly on the wife's score. There are some strategies that can be employed to help wives with credit problems, and although they sometimes cannot be implemented quickly, they can over time resolve the credit problems so that the wife will be able to get a loan, buy a car or get a better interest rate on a new credit card.

Instructions

1




Help the wife to build a credit history. A credit history is a large component of a credit score. Sometimes a wife will have credit cards that are owned jointly by husband and wife. By helping the wife get a credit card in her own name, she can start building her own credit history independent from her husband.

2




Even if you have to help financially, make sure the wife you're trying to help makes her credit card payments on time. Also, if she can keep her credit card balances below the limit, she'll improve her credit score. Credit card accounts that are at their limits can reflect negatively on a credit score.

3




Ask the wife to get a copy of her credit report. There are three main credit-reporting institutions: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. All three credit scores should be nearly identical. The institutions are required by law to provide a copy of a credit report. Help her to check the reports for any errors. If there are any errors, help the wife to contact the reporting agency. The only entity that can remove an item from a credit report is the reporting agency, which is usually a bank or lending institution.

4




Ask how many credit cards the wife has. While a couple of credit cards with consistent, on-time payments will help to raise a credit score, having more than three credit cards can reflect negatively on a credit score, especially if each card has a large balance.

5

Continue to help the wife to make payments on time. Make sure she's not late with her payment. Not only will this reflect negatively on her credit report, it will likely increase the interest rates on her credit cards.