How To Improve Your Credit FICO Score

This is an adaptation of a good overview by Dan White of Discovery Financial Solutions. You can contact Dan for Discovery's Credit Repair Guide at 773-878-1123 or at Dan4Loans@comcast.net.

A FICO score is calculated using the credit data available on the day the score is requested by a lender. Thus, a score can vary from month to month or even day to day. There are things a person can do to develop a solid credit history and improve the FICO score.

1. Pay bills consistently and on time – recent late payments carry more weight than past late payments.
2. Pay all unpaid collections and judgments – Make sure to obtain “0” balance letters and release of judgment if applicable.
3. Check credit report and remove any errors – If there is inaccurate information on the credit report, it could lower your score.
4. Keep debt reasonable – as a general rule, an account balances should be below 75% of the available credit.
5. Maintain only a reasonable amount of unused credit – having ready access to thousands of dollars of debt can actually make you an unsatisfactory credit risk.
6. Avoid too many inquiries – inquiries are interpreted as a sign that you have been actively seeking credit and could be overextending yourself or that you may be in financial difficulty.

Disputing Inaccurate Information on a Credit Report: To dispute inaccurate information on credit reports, you will need to write to the credit bureau and supply the following information:

1. Full name, first, middle and last and including any applicable suffixes (Jr., Sr., II, etc.)
2. Complete mailing address
3. Date of birth
4. Social Security number (this is necessary to access credit report)
5. The name and account number of the creditor and item in question
6. The specific reason for the disagreement with the disputed item
7. Signature

Notify the Creditor: We also recommend that you write the creditor (bank, department store or other lender) involved in any item that they dispute, detailing the error and the corrective actions they have taken by mail and follow up with them.