Protect Yourself Against Fraud? Essay

Bad credit reports can affect ones’ life in several negative ways. With a bad credit report and a low credit score, it is harder to receive a credit card, an automobile loan, a mortgage, or possibly a job. It is important that one is always aware of the credit decisions made. Paying bills late, maxing out credit cards, and filling out too many credit applications in a brief period will also have a negative impact on the credit report. To keep a good credit report, one should pay bills on time and apply for credit sparingly. Last, but certainly not least, one should check their credit report annually! A free credit report is available from each of the three credit reporting agencies each year. This is something one should take advantage of since it will help them judge whether they are managing their credit wisely. It is imperative that one keeps a good credit score. If not, one could miss out on many opportunities. For example, one may find an opening for their dream job that they are qualified for, but the negative credit report causes them to not get the job. Do not let this happen! Maintain a good credit report and opportunities like this will not pass by!

The length of a credit history accounts for 15 percent of your credit score. Moreover, it is the factor that you will not be able to improve fast when you need it.

How to improve your bad credit over time, is by pulling your credit report. You can gain the knowledge needed to fix your problems. “Credit reports are available through one of the three major U.S. credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Because of a change of law in 2005, each of the credit bureaus must provide you with a free credit report once a year, through www.annualcreditreport.com (Woolsey, B., 2016).

You can't make your debt disappear overnight, but you can make sure you pay your bills on time. There are several components that go into your FICO score, and the most important if those is your payment history. Your payment history accounts for 35 percent of your score, which makes it the largest single part of your score. It even counts more than how much debt you owe, which accounts for 30 percent of your score. A solid payment history won't make lenders fall instantly in love with you, but a history of late payments will convince them to avoid

Making mistakes when it comes to your credit is a lesson that many people learn the hard way. Constant phone calls, mail, and threats can make a tough financial situation worse. Either how well or how poorly you manage your debts and finances are available to creditors to see when you apply for credit, such as for a retail store card, or even an auto or home

1. Tell the credit reporting company, in writing, what information you think is inaccurate. Credit reporting companies must investigate the items in question — usually within 30 days — unless they

A credit score is a number used in people’s bank accounts. This number tells potential loaners if a person can be trusted to pay off their loans. You can get this number by starting when you’re young and taking small loans that are easy to pay off. This will build your credit score. Credit scores take a long time to build but can be reduced dramatically if you mess up and miss paying your loans. A credit score tracks your loans and how diligent you are at keeping up with them and how many loans you take out. You want to keep your credit score number up because if you ever want to take out a loan your credit score will make or break the deal. If you have a good record and good score you have a much better chance of getting a loan that you want or need. If you have a bad credit score you basically don’t have any chance of getting a loan until it improves.

1. If you find errors on your credit report, what steps would you take to correct them?

Free yourself from the illusion of authority. Many people make the mistake of giving too much credibility to the content of their credit reports. The power of the credit bureaus can be intimidating; we might believe

You’d tell the credit reporting company, in writing, what information that you found that’s inaccurate on your credit report. The agency must investigate the items within 30 days usually, unless they consider your

Lacking financial education was the main key of why my credit was bad in the first place. By not having the education of basic financial principals and how credit works, I mismanaged my decisions on personal finances. After I started educating myself and talking with individuals in my network, then I pulled my credit score and viewed my credit summary to see what was being reported.

Consumer Rights & Reporting Regulations," n.d.). Anytime an individual applies for a line of credit, it is important to review the consumer’s credit history, to see the accounts they have had in the past, and also the accounts they still have, how they made their payments, whether they’re on time or if any were late. Using this information will allow the creditor to give the consumer the right type of

During the Financial Fitness module I learned more about my credit score and how to improve it. I also learned the different ways a credit score is made up of. A credit score is usually used to see how likely you are to pay back money that you owe. Usually banks use them to issue loans or credit card companies’ use it to decide if they want to give you a credit card and how much they want to set your limit to. It is important to build your credit score up because it will benefit you in the future when you need to borrow money or even get a job. Some jobs check your credit score before they hire you. Also if you don’t pay a bill your credit score will go down after 30 days past the due date. Some advice I learn was to get a credit card when

Your FICO scores are the most regularly used credit scoring methods all of the bureaus use. Your FICO score

This is important because credit scores are likely the single largest determinant of whether an applicant will succeed in obtaining the loan they require to purchase the home they want. Credit scores are generally provided by FICO, and they fluctuate depending on payment and credit history.