5 Factors That Impact Your Credit Score

What are the factors that impact your credit score?

When it comes to factors that impact your credit score, we’re all aware that if you have a bad practice of dealing with debt, your credit score will suffer. Even if you strive to be as responsible as possible, your credit score may suffer as a result. The following are five unusual things that can have an impact on one’s credit score.

First and foremost, forgotten credit cards may have an impact on your credit score!

Creditors are more likely to make you an offer for a better credit card if you’ve been using credit properly for a while. All of these credit cards provide much more rewards than your previous one, whether in the form of points, cash back, or air miles.

As a result, after some time, you may decide to discontinue using the initial credit card you received. It’s possible that you’ll decide that keeping access is the better option, allowing you to continue reaping the benefits of having that access. (Hint: the longer you’ve had your oldest account, the greater the impact it will have on your credit score!)

Clearing Your Credit Card Balance

After you’ve paid off your credit card in full, you decide to cease using it. You move around a couple times in your seat. You stop paying your credit card bills, which isn’t a problem if you didn’t owing anything to begin with.

Even if you believe you have cleared the balance, there is still a chance that you have not. Perhaps you built up a charge and it didn’t show up for a long time. There’s a good chance you’ve forgotten about a subscription there. Possibly, you did not pay all of the extra fees and interest that should have been tacked on to your prior month’s outstanding debt.

This happens on a somewhat regular basis. As a result, your credit score continues to deteriorate! Why? Because you have gone behind on your payments, you are now in arrears, and a default could appear on your credit report. It’s all because you made what you thought was a decent decision.

How can you improve this?

First and foremost, ensure that you review each of your three credit reports at least once a year. Spread them out over the year so that you read a report from a different bureau roughly every four months. Reading it carefully will assist guarantee that nothing crucial is missed. Don’t let these issues develop and worsen.

The second point to remember is that prevention is always better than therapy. If you decide to quit using a credit card, make sure you continue to receive statements for it in the mail or via email even after you stop using the card. Examine the card regularly to see if any unauthorized charges have been made on it.

If you want the benefits of an old account while you still have one, try to get an upgraded version of your rewards card. Speak with your banking institution to see if you can upgrade your current card to one that offers rewards in the form of points or cash back.

The second issue is that previous phone service contracts will affect your credit score

It is commonly known that phone service providers are notoriously bad record keepers. It’s a bad indicator when you have to contact multiple customer service employees to fix a single issue, especially when those representatives don’t share the same information. It should come as no surprise that they make mistakes from time to time.

However, keeping an old phone service contract active may harm your credit and cause you to pay more for services. You will be needed to pay for your phone on a monthly basis. Any missing payments will be reflected on your credit report, which can have a negative influence on your credit score. If you decide to switch providers, you must first ensure that your old arrangement has been ended.

If you do nothing, you will continue to be obligated to make payments that you should not have to make. It is your job to remain vigilant at all times because firms regularly make this mistake.

How can you improve this?

You have the opportunity to cast doubt on one of these topics. With the help of firms like The Credit Pros, you may have major credit agencies like Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax permanently delete an incorrect mark from your record.

Even the act of challenging it, however, can take time. As a result, you must remain vigilant.

It is critical to have a documented copy of the cancellation of the agreement if you terminate a service contract. They will offer it to you if you ask for it; nevertheless, the majority of the time, they will tell you that you do not need it since you are OK. Put too much faith in what they say because even experts can make blunders.

Identity theft committed against you can harm your credit score.

Identity theft is one of the most widespread types of petty crime in the United States. It is also one of the most difficult to prosecute.

If a third party obtains your personal information, they can apply for loans and credit cards in your name. Not only that but they will not be held liable for repayment; you will. They can leave you to pay the bill on your own because they are using the information you provided. As a result, your credit score may suffer!

Is there anything you can do to make things better? Without a doubt!

As in the last example, it is feasible to challenge bad marks on your credit history as a result of identity fraud. If you want to dispute any information on your credit report, you must contact each of the three credit reporting organizations.

On the other hand, this can be quite inconvenient for you, and if you don’t understand the jargon, things will be even tougher for you. Fortunately for you, The Credit Pros can aid you in disputing any item on your credit report.

How can you improve this?

As was the case in the preceding scenario, prevention is preferable to therapy. To keep someone else from taking your identity, you must take safeguards. This entails being cautious about securing your personal information. Always use caution while submitting information to websites. Furthermore, use caution when accessing the internet.

A more in-depth discussion of how to prevent identity theft can be found in an article on our website. Examine it out!

If you and another individual share the same name, your credit score will suffer

Because there is nothing you can do to change the situation, this is almost like cheating.

Credit bureaus, collections agencies, and loan officers, on the other hand, are all prone to making mistakes on a frequent basis. They risk mistakenly adding inaccurate entries into the relevant files. It is possible that they will misidentify you. You are directly liable for the consequences of another person’s acts.

How can you improve this?

There is no effective way to prevent this from happening. It is critical that you monitor your credit reports as frequently as possible.

These kinds of mistakes are quite prevalent, have the ability to harm your credit score, and you have the right to know about them!

You have the right to protest something if you discover an inaccuracy in it. You have the choice of fighting it on your own or, as previously said, getting assistance.

People with limited credit knowledge and time often discover that receiving advice is the best option open to them. To identify the best course of action, read this post to find out whether you should hire a credit repair company or do it yourself.

Divorce will have an influence on your credit score

Divorce is one of the most emotionally draining processes a person can go through. Not only does a marriage end, but the persons involved must also go through extensive legal battles in order to put their lives back together.

Married couples frequently use one another as cosigners on loans, have authorized users on the same credit cards, and jointly own mortgages. When these arrangements are broken, it can have a negative impact on a person’s credit score because the individual may end up being liable for a debt that they are ignorant of! Of course, your credit score may suffer as a result of this.

How can you improve this?

If you are currently going through a divorce, make sure to document in writing the financial commitments that each partner is responsible for. Following that, you must ensure that each of those loan providers gets this information documented in writing by contacting each of them separately.

Most loan providers are unable to discharge a cosigner from debt responsibility. This means that if the party responsible for repaying the loan is unable to do so, the credit of the other party will suffer as well! Paying off a loan in full or refinancing it is the only way to get out of the duty of being a cosigner on a financial commitment.

All of these things make it almost certain that the preparations will fail. To put it another way, the odds are stacked against us. Every one of these agreements should be drafted by a skilled divorce attorney. Each party may be required to refinance any debt currently held in the other party’s name as part of this agreement. When all of the agreements are in place, a judge will determine who is responsible for each loan.

These issues are typically resolved by continuing settlements. If you find yourself in a situation where your divorce is negatively impacting your credit, do not be afraid to contact a credit repair service. If you have credit problems as a result of your divorce, the experts at FlareCredit can help. The five unusual occurrences listed below can have a negative influence on your credit score