The Truth Behind Common Myths About Your Credit Report
It is truly amazing to note the number of “facts” that many people think they know about credit reports and how various factors affect your credit score that are just simply untrue. For as much importance that is placed on having as good of a credit report and credit score as possible these days, it is critical for the consumer to understand the truth behind how your credit score is affected by various things.
This is especially important in today’s world, as car insurance companies and even many employers are now checking a consumer’s credit report before making a decision about their insurance premiums or making a job offer.
Myth #1: When my fiance and I get married, we will have a joint credit report and the negatives from our individual reports will go away.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Even after you are married, you will still have separate credit reports. Any new credit items added to your report will be the result of opening joint accounts or having your name added to their existing account. Any negative information that was there before will still be there.
Myth #2: As long as my credit cards are not over their credit limit, they will give me a good credit score.
Not completely true. The two worst things you can do to get a bad credit score are to consistently miss or be late with payments, and to go over your credit limit. If you make your payments on time and stay under your credit limit, you will get an “ok” rating on that credit card. But to maximize the number of points you get on your credit card towards your credit score, it is best to keep your outstanding balance at about 20-30% of your credit limit.
Myth #3: When you negotiate a settlement amount with a lender, that account will show up as being fine on your credit report.
Wrong. If you have to negotiate something, that would indicate that you are working on a deal to pay them some amount less than what you actually owe. In that case, it will definitely have a negative effect on your credit score and show up as a negative item.
Myth #4: Closing old accounts will raise your credit score.
Totally inaccurate and in fact, can very potentially have the opposite effect and lower your credit score. Remember, your credit score is a picture of your credit history, and if you close old accounts, your credit history is reduced, thereby potentially lowering your overall score.
Myth #5: The best or only way to raise your credit score is to use one of the companies that specialize in that.
This is the biggest myth and also one of the biggest pieces of hogwash. Some of those companies that claim they can fix your credit can do so to varying degrees, and some cannot do a thing. But the real truth of the matter is that none of those companies can do anything that you cannot do yourself at no charge except for postage stamps. In fact, since you are the consumer who is disputing his or her own credit report, you actually have more clout in this way than those companies do.
Myth #6: Errors on your credit report are rare, and will correct themselves automatically when they occur.
Absolute baloney. The truth of the matter is that the vast majority of consumers have errors on their credit report. Compound that with the fact that those errors do NOT correct themselves, ever, unless you point out the error and dispute it.
Your credit score and credit history are used in a wide variety of places and the use of them is increasing every day. It is definitely worth your time and effort to get copies of your credit report and ensure that it is accurate, which is a huge step towards raising your credit score.
For more insights and additional information about your Credit Report Score as well as getting free copies of your personal credit reports, please visit our web site at http://www.credit-help-center.com
