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Do Credit Cards Make Up a Majority of Your Credit Report?

Improving your credit score can be a long and difficult road, but there are tasks you can do to get in on a better course immediately. But first you should get a hold of your credit report to see what's on it.

If there are errors on your report, you can lodge a dispute with the reporting agency who will investigate your claim. Not only should you use this process for incorrect data that hurts your score, but also in the case of potentially good credit data being absent from your report. You can submit a report online, but should ideally submit one in writing to both the agency and the offending lender.

Include a copy of your credit report with the disputed area outlined, and a copy of your records which refute what's contained in it, with the pertinent sections also highlighted. If it turns out that you still can't get the listing removed, you can still have a consumer remark added to that section of your credit report which allows you to explain the situation surrounding it.

Taking that one step further, it's ideal if you add remarks for each negative item detailed in your report, whether you ever disputed them or not. This gives the report a more human and relatable element to it, and can possibly mitigate the damage done by that listing somewhat in the eyes of the potential lender who's looking at it. Of course saying you were late on your payment because you were partying that entire month would not be a good idea.

If you own multiple cards you may want to consider closing some of those accounts, starting with the newer ones. The more credit at your disposal the worse your score will be, and having multiple lines of credit makes it even worse. Having one card with a $10,000 limit is better than having 5 cards with $2,000 limits. The additional cards make you appear to be a bigger risk.

Of course, the sad reality of getting a credit score is that you must use those credit cards to get it. If it seems like a big conspiracy by lenders, well, it probably is, but the fact remains. Having no score is just as bad as having a poor score.

You can have all the income in the world, a job you've been at for years, and low monthly expenses, but without a credit history, few lenders will be willing to take a chance on you. You're forced to get your start with high interest credit cards or loans, and then slowly work your way down the interest ladder as your credit score climbs.

Lastly you should avoid the services of credit repair clinics. They can appear to be a beacon of light in your darkened financial world, but the truth is that many of them do things you could simply do yourself for free or for very little cost like exploring balance transfer offers, and many of them also offer services that are either fraudulent or dubious. There are no easy outs when it comes to your credit score, and these clinics can't offer one.

By: Darren Cason

Knowing more helps you make better decisions, like on the topic of balance transfer options. Visit us at www.debtjerk.com/selecting-balance-transfer-credit-cards.html.

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