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Improve Credit Score - I suffered a major financial setback when I discovered how low my credit score.

This affected me in many ways, most importantly I could not get the loan I wanted for a new house. I've now worked out how to improve my score - I want to now share this info with you.

Firstly, you need to get the three credit reports from the 3 major credit report bureaus. The three Credit Report Bureaus are: Experian (formally TRW), then Equifax, and TransUnion.

You need to get three reports as the information will vary form all of them, that's the bad news, the good news is that you can get a free copy of each, this is allowed by the American Government. But be warned, don't get sold into getting the other services they offer as you may not need them.

When you have your reports look at the info and workout out what you need to fix. Before you go about improving your credit score you need to make sure all the info is correct. There is a good chance that there is a mistake on your report. If not on the financial info there will be mistakes on your personal data. Ring the bureaus and correct the information.

The next step is to understand how your score is calculated. Here is a list of the following ingredients:

• Payment History 35%
• Amount Owed 30%
• Length of Credit History 15%
• New Credit 10%
• Types of Credit Used 10%

As you can see above, the number one way to improve your score Payment History accounts for a massive 35% of your score. This figure takes into account the many different types of payments, including mortgages and major credit cards, even department store credit cards and car loans.

The second part of payment history info is made up of public records, including bankruptcies and lawsuits such as foreclosures.

All these areas also include details such any missed or late payments, such as the amount and how long ago it occurred, then how late it was. These are also very important. Late payment can actually knock 50 to 100 points off your score so Don't ever miss a payment.

Here is another secret that not many people know about: Try checking your credit report and see what day of the month your creditors send updates on payments to the credit bureaus.

It's interesting to note that they're not often on the same cycle as your actual payment due date. The situation where the following occurs: you can pay off your card every month and your credit report will show you carrying a balance. To get around this you need to pay your amount before this date.

If you fear you cannot make the amount for the month, contact the lender and negotiate a solution. Get a direct debt facility with your bank so the loan amount is debited automatically each month.

Remember that most bad credit will stay on your record for at least seven years the good news is that nobody looks at the history that predates a credit disaster.

Be sure to forget about emails and websites promising to restore credit scores overnight. You can't they will trick you into making an dispute on your bad info - the bureau then has to take this info off you report until the investigation is over. Once over it will return straight back on, just like a boomerang!

Take my advice above and do it the right way.

For more advice and information on Credit Score and Credit Reports click on www.credit-reporter.net

Written By: Justin Fox

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