If you've been turned down for loans, credit, housing or employment because of a low credit score, you aren't alone. According to Bankrate.com, Fair Isaac Corporation statistics illustrate that 15 percent of U.S. residents have credit scores below 600. If educating yourself on credit reporting laws and actively working to repair your credit score seems daunting, there are easier ways to boost your credit rating.
Dispute Online
Online disputes offer a quick, functional way for consumers to contest information within their credit reports that damages their scores. You have the right to dispute any item within your credit record. Federal credit reporting laws give each credit bureau 30 days to contact the information provider and attempt to validate the information. Thus, claiming a debt isn't yours when your creditor can easily prove that it is won't do you any good. A U.S. Public Interest Research Group survey, however, demonstrates that 79 percent of all consumer credit files contain errors. You can dispute an accurate negative account if it contains small errors such as incorrect dates and missing creditor contact information. If your creditor doesn't correct the account, the credit bureaus will remove it.
Increase Credit Limit
The amount of debt you carry on your credit cards and lines of credit significantly affects your credit score. Credit scoring models compare the amount you owe your creditors to your available spending limit. The result is your debt utilization ratio. The higher your debt utilization ratio is, the lower your credit score will be. Ideally, your debt utilization ratio should rest around 10 percent, but you can carry a ratio of up to 35 percent before your credit score suffers as a result.
While paying down your credit card debt will lower your debt utilization ratio, doing so isn't always easy--or fast. One effective way to lower your ratio without paying a lump sum to your credit card provider is to request a credit limit increase. Credit card companies are most likely to grant your request if you can demonstrate a recent history of timely payments or are a long-standing customer.
Goodwill Letter
The payment histories on your accounts are responsible for 35 percent of your credit score. If you've made a few late payments in the past that are dragging down your score, you can request that your creditor forgive those late payments and remove them from your credit history with a goodwill letter. Goodwill letters work best if you only have one or two late payments on record and have a long history with the company. If mailing a goodwill letter yields no results, try again. Credit card companies possess large customer service departments and it's unlikely your goodwill letter will end up in the same hands the second time around.
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