Is There a Legitimate Way to Improve a Bad Credit Score?

Your credit score affects whether you get loans and how much interest you will be charged for them. If you have a good credit score, you can get loans at lower interest rates. If your credit score needs work, the bad news is that there are no quick and easy fixes. The good news is that your credit score can be improved over time. By taking steps to improve your credit history, your credit score will improve because newer information counts more heavily than past records, and most negative information falls off your credit report in seven years.

Instructions

1

Check your credit report. Federal law entitles you to a free copy of your credit report from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, the three major credit bureaus, once every 12 months. By ordering your free copy, you can check to make sure that your credit report does not contain errors, such as credit cards that are not yours or mistakenly reported late payments or delinquent accounts.

2

Make a calendar of your due dates for bills so that you make your payments on time, even if you pay just the minimum. Your payment history accounts for 35 percent of your credit score, so building a record of making on-time payments will boost your score.

3

Pay down your revolving debts, such as credit cards. If you cannot afford to pay them down, spread them evenly over several cards, recommends Bankrate.com, because the credit scoring formula scores people who have all of their credit lines as less than 30 percent of their credit limits higher than people who only have one or two credit cards, but the balances are close to the credit limits.

4

Stop applying for new credit. Each time that you apply for new credit, an inquiry goes on your credit report, lowering your score. If you have a short credit history, your credit score will suffer more from these inquiries than if you have a longer history.

5

Keep your old cards open and current. By keeping your old cards open, you lengthen your credit history, which accounts for 10 percent of your credit score. In addition, you will have extra available credit in the event of an emergency.