Credit report questions?
Posted in Credit on 08/31/2009 09:44 am by admin
Guillermo T asked:
I just wanted to see if anyone can help me with some things on my report, and also throw some useful advice my way. I have had a membership with Experian so i try to stay on top of my report and i knwo thats the first step, but maybe i can get help with what certain things mean and if they help or hurt my score.
My “percentage of credit available” is 60.53%. (is that good, whats a good percentage and what does it mean).
I have 10 “Satisfactory accounts”
I have 0 “Now delinquent/derogatory accounts”
I have 3 “Was delinquent/derogatory accounts”
I have 0 “Public records”
I have 6 “number of inquiries”
$1559 in “revolving debt”
$1081 in “installment debt”
$0 in “other debt” & collection debt”
$0 in “real estate debt”
I just wanted to see if anyone can help me with some things on my report, and also throw some useful advice my way. I have had a membership with Experian so i try to stay on top of my report and i knwo thats the first step, but maybe i can get help with what certain things mean and if they help or hurt my score.
My “percentage of credit available” is 60.53%. (is that good, whats a good percentage and what does it mean).
I have 10 “Satisfactory accounts”
I have 0 “Now delinquent/derogatory accounts”
I have 3 “Was delinquent/derogatory accounts”
I have 0 “Public records”
I have 6 “number of inquiries”
$1559 in “revolving debt”
$1081 in “installment debt”
$0 in “other debt” & collection debt”
$0 in “real estate debt”
Can i have a an explanation of these things, are they good, would i change some, add to them or take away from them.
PS-Do Online credit accounts, like PayPal and Bill Me Later report and reflect on your credit report like a Card, can they hurt my score.
My Credit “Plus” credit score is 639
My FICO score is 539
LUTHER
08/31/2009 at 10:56 am
JACK
paypal does not report, i’m not sure about bill me later.
Your 60% means you use 60% of your available credit. (LIke if you had a 1000 limit, you have a balance of 600.) You want it below 40%, so pay down your creidt cards to see your score go up.
09/02/2009 at 9:34 am
SPENCER
Well, you said you try to stay on top of it, so can i ask what is your credit score? The percentage of credit available should be AT LEAST 70%, so you need to pay down more debts. That is how you boost your credit score. All those things that you listed are just your credit history summary. Once again, paying off (bring the balance down to ZERO) and pay on time are most important to you right now to bring up your credit score.
09/03/2009 at 4:07 pm
JARROD
First, that fee you are paying for credit monitoring is a waste of money. You can get a free copy of your credit report every year (AnnualCreditReport.com). By spacing out that free report from each of the credit bureaus (one every 4 months), you can easily monitor your credit report.
Secondly, FICO is the only score than matters. That is what creditors look at. The other score is based on a different scale and is referred to as Fako.
Third, pay off your credit card balances. It appears you are carrying balances of more than 30% of your available limit. This is killing your score. Concentrate on paying off the highest interest rate card first, while making minimum payments on the rest. When the highest interest rate is paid off, move to the next till they are all paid in full.
Once you get those credit cards paid off, only charge what you can afford to pay in full every month. Credit cards are only for short term convenience not long term financing.
You should deal with those derogatories. If they are charge offs or accounts in collection, try settling the accounts — start with the newest and work backwards. The older the account the less impact on your score. Get any settlement agreement in writing. Ask for delete for payment (this will help our score). Don’t give them access to your bank account. Lump sum payments get the best deals and any payment plan has to be short term.
You need at least a 24 month consistent, on time payment history before you will see any improvement in your score. Paying all your bills on time is the most important thing.