Your Credit Score

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FAQs

How many credit bureaus are there?

There are a total of 3 credit bureaus you need to concern yourself with: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. There may be a other smaller credit bureaus that collect your data, but you will likely never need to communicate with them.

Is there a guarantee that you can fix my credit?

We have been able to satisfy every one of our clients.

However, even with a high level of customer satisfaction, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to fix every item on your credit report---and you should be wary of any company that says they can. A great credit repair company is like a great attorney: they cannot guarantee you a win, but they have a high win rate that speaks for itself.

Nevertheless, our guarantee is that we will do our best to fix all items we agreed to fix. If we are unable to successfully dispute any items, you will not be charged for them.

How will I receive updates on my file’s progress?

You will receive a phone call about once a month from one of our representatives, who will go over the current status of your file. Additionally, if you have provided us with an email address, you will receive a status report each time there is an update on your file.

You are also welcome to contact our office or your assigned consultant at any time to inquire about your status.

Click here to view a sample of an emailed status report.

Payment History
Utilization Ratio
Length of Credit History
Recent Activity
Types of Accounts

There are 5 primary factors that affect your credit score. See below for an explanation of each and how much of an impact each factor has on your score.

Payment History – 35%

Your payment history includes how consistently you pay your debts. This generally includes all types of debts: credit cards, car loans, mortgages, etc. Note that not all creditors report your payment history to the bureaus. In these cases, making your monthly payments on time will not improve your credit score, but if you start missing payments, they may report this to the bureaus, which will negatively affect your score. To be on the safe side, and as a good habit, you should make an effort to pay all your bills on time.

Utilization Ratio – 30%

Your utilization ratio applies only to your revolving accounts (i.e. credit cards). It is the amount of credit you’ve used compared with how much credit you have in total.

For example, if you have a credit card with a limit of $1,000 and you utilize $500 of it, then the current utilization on that card is 50%. If you also have a second credit card with a $1,000 limit and you have a $0 balance on it, then your utilization on that card is 0%. If you combine the balances and credit limits on both cards, your overall utilization would be 25% ($500 used of $2000 available).

Your credit score is based off both the utilization ratio on each credit card and on your overall utilization (all cards combined). The maximum utilization on each card should be no more than 35%. Once it goes above this, your score is negatively affected.

Length of Credit History – 15%

The longer your credit history, the better a potential lender can determine how good of a borrower you are. To give a comparison: John and Mary are both “perfect” drivers, meaning they have not gotten into a single car accident for all the time they have been driving. However, John got his license just yesterday; Jane has been driving for over 10 years. While it’s true that they are both “perfect” drivers, we can confidently say that Jane is a good driver. As for John, it’s difficult to determine if he is a good driver, since he has only been a “perfect” driver for one day.

We can all be “perfect” drivers for a day or a week, but what matters is how long we can go as “perfect” drivers. The same applies to your credit history.

Recent Activity – 10%

Applying for a credit card or a loan here and there likely won’t hurt your credit. However, if you apply for a handful of credit cards within a short period of time, this will hurt your credit score. While there may be perfectly legitimate reasons why an individual may apply for a lot of credit cards in a short time, more often than not, it means the person is hurting for money and needs to cover their bills by putting them on credit cards.

There are exceptions to this: one being mortgage loan applications. When a person is shopping for a home, they will normally go to various banks and lenders to see who can give them the best rate or offer them the biggest loan. Applying for a lot of mortgage loans in a short period of time will not negatively affect your score as much as applying for a lot of credit cards in a short period of time would.

Types of Accounts – 10%

Having different types of credit will improve your score because it shows creditors that you are an experienced borrower. A person who only has credit cards, for example, is considered a less experienced borrower than a person who has credit cards, a car loan, and a home loan.