7 credit score myths you should stop believing

Yahoo

4 days ago

If you've ever learned anything about credit scores from a friend, a family member, or social media, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you may have some unlearning to do.
In my past role as an NFCC-certified credit counselor and my cumulative 12 years working as a financial educator, I've heard some bizarre myths and rumors about credit scores, a few of which are really popular.
Sure, myths can be fun. But when it comes to credit scores, they have major consequences. Some of the most commonly held myths can leave you with perpetually low credit scores and make it hard for you to qualify for mortgages or credit cards.
Here are the most common and harmful credit myths I've come across, and the truth you need to know about each one.
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Top credit score myths debunked
1. Checking your credit reports lowers your scores
When I encourage people to pull their credit reports, I tend to hear the same response: "Won't that hurt my credit scores?"
The answer is a firm "no!"
The truth is, pulling your own credit reports does not hurt your credit scores at all. In fact, if you don't pull and review your reports, you may never be able to build good credit. That's because reviewing your reports helps you with all of the following:
Finding out what's in your credit file
Discovering what needs to be improved
Finding and disputing credit report errors
Catching signs of identity theft
You can pull your credit reports for free once a week at AnnualCreditReport.com.
2. You need to carry a balance to build good credit
I wish I had a dollar for every time someone told me that carrying a 30% credit card balance (that's a balance equal to 30% of your card limit) helps you build good credit scores.
The reality is that the lower your credit card balance is, the better for both your credit scores and your wallet.
When you have low balances, you reduce your credit utilization ratio (the amount of credit you're using compared to your total available balance). The lower your credit utilization, the better it is for your credit scores because you're showing lenders that you don't need credit cards to cover your expenses.
Additionally, if you pay off your full credit card balance by the monthly due date — which I highly recommend — you can avoid high interest charges.
3. I don't need to worry about my credit until I want a loan
In my credit counseling days, I often got calls from people who wanted help fixing their credit ASAP. Often, it was because they had just submitted an application for a car loan, or made an offer on a new home.
Unfortunately, I had to let them know that it usually takes months, and sometimes years, to clean up credit mistakes and build good credit.
For example, even if you pay off your credit card today, it can take a month or more for the $0 balance to show up on your credit reports and be factored into your credit scores. And if you want to build good credit scores, it can take months or even years, depending on the condition your credit is in now.
4. Paying off collection debt helps your credit scores
I receive several emails a month from people who are desperate to remove old collection accounts from their credit reports.
The reason? They want to improve their credit scores — fast.
Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that paying off a collection account will improve your credit scores. Here are a few credit score facts to keep in mind before you consider sending money to a debt collector:
Medical collection debt under $500 has no impact on your credit scores.
Paying off a collection account does not remove the account from your credit reports.
Most credit score calculations do not make a distinction between paid and unpaid collections.
That said, depending on the type of debt, you may want to pay off collection accounts anyway. It can stop debt collectors from contacting you or even taking legal action against you. However, if the debt is old and close to falling off your report (typically seven years from the original delinquency), paying may reset the clock on the debt. So, if you're unsure about how to handle a debt in collections, it's a good idea to reach out to an accredited credit counselor for guidance.
5. Disputing accurate information will improve your credit scores
Most credit myths are a mix of truth and fiction, and this one is no different.
Here's what's true: If you find an error in your credit reports, you have the right to file a dispute (for free) and get the information corrected or removed. But you do not have the right to get accurate information removed from your reports.
Unfortunately, some people view the dispute process as an invitation to try and remove any negative information, even if it's accurate. In fact, there are credit repair companies that charge money to dispute correct information on your behalf.
If you do dispute correct information, there's a chance it will be removed from your reports while the credit bureau investigates your claim. But once they confirm that it's accurate, the information will reappear on your reports.
6. A good credit score means you're rich
Wealth doesn't impact your credit scores, at least not directly.
Yes, your income level can impact how much money you borrow, whether you're able to repay loans and credit cards, and other behaviors that affect your credit. However, your income is not a factor in determining your credit scores.
In fact, even if you're considered rich, but you don't pay your debt on time, you will have poor credit scores.
7. Bad credit history follows you forever
As a credit counselor, I spoke to many people who believed that a bankruptcy or foreclosure from the '80s or '90s was still damaging their credit.
While events such as bankruptcy, foreclosure, and repossession will cause severe damage to your credit scores, the damage only follows you for a limited time. Here's a breakdown of the timelines:
7 years: Missed debt payments (at least 30 days late), vehicle repossession, home foreclosure, and Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
10 years: Chapter 7 bankruptcy and positive credit information
As negative information gets older, it has less of an impact on your credit scores. Once it's removed, it has no impact at all.
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