Comments on: Building a Strong Credit Report from the Beginning http://blog.equifax.com/credit/building-a-strong-credit-report-from-the-beginning/ Fri, 17 May 2013 00:53:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5 By: EFX Moderator, EM http://blog.equifax.com/credit/building-a-strong-credit-report-from-the-beginning/#comment-16560 EFX Moderator, EM Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:57:24 +0000 http://blog.equifax.com/?p=3005#comment-16560 NB, Keeping the account open will continue your length of credit history. While the balance is currently zero, you mentioned you have bills currently being paid by that account. You’ll want to make sure no unexpected charges are made to the account. Are there annual fees? Do you have a bill auto-charging the account every month or every year? Keeping an account open can also be useful in emergencies. After lengthy inactivity, the lender could close the account too. You’d want to check with them on their policies for that as it can vary.

So, there’s a lot to consider. Let us know what path you end up taking.

]]> By: NB http://blog.equifax.com/credit/building-a-strong-credit-report-from-the-beginning/#comment-16559 NB Mon, 11 Mar 2013 23:29:21 +0000 http://blog.equifax.com/?p=3005#comment-16559 Hello, Recently, a credit card I’ve had for a long time put a fraud alert on my account – I called in and verified all charges and they still want me to get a new card (which is a huge pain due to auto payments I have set up) and they won’t tell me any details, so out of principle I’m thinking about not getting a new card with them and going elsewhere…

I didn’t close the account, and they haven’t closed it either, they just have a hold on the account and they want to send me a new one. If I don’t have them send me a new card and leave the account in it’s current status (with the balance paid of course) do you think this will harm my credit?

Thanks for any guidance you can provide!

]]> By: Anonymous http://blog.equifax.com/credit/building-a-strong-credit-report-from-the-beginning/#comment-12601 Anonymous Sat, 25 Aug 2012 16:10:33 +0000 http://blog.equifax.com/?p=3005#comment-12601 Hello,
I started with a score of 680, no mortgage, car payment and only one cc. I have a negative collection account for 300.00 on there that does not belong to me (disputed with no result) and an IRS lien paid in full over 5 years ago. Which was not my fault. I had to hire an attorney to fix this and they still did not refund all of the funds they owe me!
Well, I went to apply for a mortgage and they said I need more trade lines, etc.
Got my mortgage, bought a new car with payments and opened a couple new cc’s with low limits. Charged them and am in the process of paying them off. I have been paying on my new mortgage now for 11 months. No lates on anything! The problem is that my score is 570! How has any of the positive things you do help? It looks like all they did were make matters worse! Any ideas? BTW, I do enjoy my brand new home!
Regards,
Joe Bronson

]]> By: ncollege4law@aol.com mark http://blog.equifax.com/credit/building-a-strong-credit-report-from-the-beginning/#comment-5341 ncollege4law@aol.com mark Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:19:12 +0000 http://blog.equifax.com/?p=3005#comment-5341 I have a $30,000.00 student loan that doesn’t come due until after I graduate in 2015, but yet it shows up now on my credit report and it’s killing everything on my report. I am on disabiity making $14,000 a year, so my debt to income ratio is like 110%. There seems to need to be a different location for loans that are not coming due for 3 years instead of them showing up now and putting my score around 536.

]]> By: EFX Finance Blog Editor, JF http://blog.equifax.com/credit/building-a-strong-credit-report-from-the-beginning/#comment-4709 EFX Finance Blog Editor, JF Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:38:22 +0000 http://blog.equifax.com/?p=3005#comment-4709 @Jennifer – Thanks for much for reading. Every person’s credit file is different, and we can’t say for sure what effect open credit accounts will have on your credit score. However, having more open available credit is beneficial to your score. It’s usually better to keep those accounts that you don’t use open, rather than closing the accounts and reducing your available credit. Just make sure you’ve paid off your balance and the account is still being reported as paid as agreed. You can find more information about closing accounts here: http://blog.equifax.com/credit/credit-score-changes-how-does-closing-an-account-affect-my-credit-score/.

Thanks again for reading and look forward to seeing you on the blog again soon.

]]> By: Ralph L King, Loan Officer, Embrace Home Loans. http://blog.equifax.com/credit/building-a-strong-credit-report-from-the-beginning/#comment-4704 Ralph L King, Loan Officer, Embrace Home Loans. Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:57:03 +0000 http://blog.equifax.com/?p=3005#comment-4704 Barry, saw your posting,concern and objective. Raising your score to take advantage of the cuurent low market rates may NOT be necessary. I work with purchase & refinancing and can be reached at ralphk.embracehomeloans.com to discuss your confidential needs.

]]> By: Jennifer Brown http://blog.equifax.com/credit/building-a-strong-credit-report-from-the-beginning/#comment-4634 Jennifer Brown Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:08:05 +0000 http://blog.equifax.com/?p=3005#comment-4634 Does it hurt my credit to have open credit cards that I no longer use?

]]> By: Diane Moogalian http://blog.equifax.com/credit/building-a-strong-credit-report-from-the-beginning/#comment-3826 Diane Moogalian Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:35:42 +0000 http://blog.equifax.com/?p=3005#comment-3826 @KDC: You will have to contact each Credit Reporting Agency to dispute and remove information. You can dispute with Equifax online here: https://www.ai.equifax.com/CreditInvestigation/

]]> By: Diane Moogalian http://blog.equifax.com/credit/building-a-strong-credit-report-from-the-beginning/#comment-3825 Diane Moogalian Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:35:24 +0000 http://blog.equifax.com/?p=3005#comment-3825 @KDC: You will have to contact each Credit Reporting Agency to dispute and remove information. You can dispute with Equifax online here: https://www.ai.equifax.com/CreditInvestigation/

]]> By: Diane Moogalian http://blog.equifax.com/credit/building-a-strong-credit-report-from-the-beginning/#comment-3824 Diane Moogalian Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:34:32 +0000 http://blog.equifax.com/?p=3005#comment-3824 @Barry: While improving your score is definitely possible, there are no guarantees. Scores can change gradually over time as your overall credit picture changes. What I can tell you is that focusing on positive behaviors such as paying bills on time, not opening lots of new credit and overall managing credit responsibly to name afew, will aid in improving your score over time. See our other blogs for more information about improving your credit score: http://blog.equifax.com/credit/improve-your-credit-score-and-creditworthiness/

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