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HomeBlog BlogWhat You Don’t Know About Your Credit Score Could Hurt You
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What You Don’t Know About Your Credit Score Could Hurt You

May 16, 2013 by National Debt Relief

Businesswoman reviewing paperwork at deskYou might think that everyone understands credit scores. But you’d be wrong. According to an article I read recently, there is a great deal of confusion about credit scores.

Why is your credit score important?

Credit scores are incredibly important because they determine whether or not you can obtain credit and how much you will pay for it. The reason for this is because the first thing any potential lender will look at is your credit score. A bad credit score could stop you from getting a credit card or even renting an apartment. It will also increase how much you have to pay for services such as electricity, cable and your cell phone. It can even have an effect on your auto insurance premium.

40% don’t know how credit scores are used

This article referenced a study done recently by the Consumer Federation of America and VantageScore Solutions. It found that two-fifths of those surveyed were not aware that mortgage lenders and credit card companies use your credit score to decide whether or not to grant credit and how much the credit will cost. Two-fifths thought that their personal characteristics such as marital status and age were used in computing their credit scores, which is totally inaccurate.

What lenders are required to do

Did you know that lenders must inform you of the credit score that was used when they made their decision about lending to you? Between one-quarter and one-third of those surveyed did not know this. But the fact is if you try to get a mortgage, are refused a loan or didn’t get the best terms or price, the lender must tell you which credit score was used in making its decision. This is important because it will tell you which of the three credit bureaus you will need to contact to get and review your report.

Credit repair services

Finally, more than 33% thought that credit repair agencies would always or usually be able to help correct credit report errors and improve scores. This is also not true. You must review your credit reports on a regular basis. If you find errors, the burden is on you to see that they are corrected.

Raising your credit score

If you are interested in raising your credit score here’s what you need to do. First, as noted above, be sure to keep your credit card balances low and never apply for several credit cards at the same time. Maybe most important, be sure to pay your bills on time every month without exception.

How to get your credit score

You can get your credit score free but you will have to jump through some hoops. For example, if you sign up for a free trial of FICOs (www.myfico.com) Score Watch program you can get your score free. But – be alert – you need to make sure that you cancel Score Watch before the end of your free trial or you will automatically be charged for three months’ worth of the service. The website http://quizzle.com will give you your credit score free but it’s not your true FICPO score. It’s called your CE score. And the website http://CreditKarma.com provides what it calls your New Account Score but, again, this will not be your FICO score.

Get and understand your score

If you haven’t seen your credit score recently or ever, you need to get it immediately. This is a case where ignorance is definitely not bliss. What you don’t know about your credit score could definitely hurt you.

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National Debt Relief is one of the largest and best-rated debt settlement companies in the country. In addition to providing excellent, 5-star services to our clients, we also focus on educating consumers across America on how to best manage their money. Our posts cover topics around personal finance, saving tips, and much more. We’ve served thousands of clients, settled over $1 billion in consumer debt, and our services have been featured on sites like NerdWallet, Mashable, HuffPost, and Glamour.

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Moderate National Debt Relief Caller: Charlotte Transcribed WE 1/24/2021 Charlotte: Before I begin, I have to let you know that our call may be recorded. Can you tell me, how did you first hear about our National Debt Relief? JOAN: Oh, I don't know. I don't remember. I don't know how I heard about it. Charlotte: What made you decide to work with them? JOAN: Well, obviously, I needed to consolidate my debt. Charlotte: Tell me about the service program that they provided you with. JOAN: Well, I'm not done. But for me, it’s costly. What I did not like about it was that they add on. They say it's going to be X amount of dollars. But then what they do is they say, “Oh, well, we found another creditor that you need to…” So that'll be at a different part of the month and I don't like staggered bills. If I'm gonna pay a bill, whether it's to the phone company, the insurance company, whatever it might be, I want to pay that bill once a month. That's the only drawback. Charlotte: So let me get this. Normally, they are collecting the bills upfront. And then they work to get them paid off at a different rate. So everything wasn't collected all at once, if that's what I'm hearing correctly. JOAN: No, no, no. Every month, money is taken out of your account. And they pay X amount of dollars. Like let's say you owe $5,000 with Citibank, $500 in Credit One, whatever. They work out a deal with them and then they say, “Well, you have to pay $350 a month.” And they'll pay $20 a month towards -- they give you like around about how long it's going to take. Two years, two and a half years. And then they work it out that way. Charlotte: Now, what did you think about your negotiator? JOAN: I don't know. I just called up. It's a completely different department. So when you call up to sign up, it's very different. I don't remember that. It's just that they collected all the information. It was easy for me. I didn't have to go through and find whatever bills I wanted to put in the debt relief. They did that. Charlotte: So say you have questions or concerns. How did you get your questions or concerns addressed? JOAN: I would just ask and they answered it. They're very helpful like that. They'll answer any questions you have. And if they don’t know, they will find out. Charlotte: So was there not a particular person that you spoke with? JOAN: No, you don’t have one person that you deal with that just handles your account. Once you do – they’re like headhunters. Until you sign up, you're going to have that one person and even other people calling. Once your name is out there, they're going to keep calling you. So, once you sign up, then it's whoever answers the phone. It’s customer service. Charlotte: How comfortable did you feel working with National Debt Relief through this process? JOAN: I felt very comfortable, very safe. I was not worried about anything. Charlotte: Is there anything about this process that you would have liked to seen handled differently? JOAN: Yes. The way the payments come out. I'd rather have them one instead of … Charlotte: Everywhere. JOAN: Right. Well, not everywhere. For the most part, the bulk of them were. But then if there's one here, one there, they don't just extend it to another payment. And then the payments change, like the payment amount. You could pay $20 for six months, and then all of a sudden, it's $80 for the next three months, so you really don't know. Charlotte: So if you have to rate this experience on a scale of one to five, five is you’d recommend to friends, one you're pretty dissatisfied… JOAN: No. I would definitely recommend it to a friend. Charlotte: How would you say working with National Debt Relief has impact your life? JOAN: Well, it did help until I hit a speed bump. I'm in the middle of a divorce and my husband closed our checking account, of course. But so far, as a matter of fact, that's why I thought you were calling. I have to postpone the next month, so hopefully, they'll be able to postpone it, because I've been postponing it for a few months. Charlotte: Would it be okay if I posted your comments as a review on our public website for National Debt Relief? Because you did give us some really good feedback. JOAN: Yes, but not using my name. Charlotte: Okay, I will make it anonymous for you. I will also send over a link so that you can have it as a record for yourself at jdola20@yahoo.com. JOAN: Yes, but do not put that public. Charlotte: Oh, no, no, no. That doesn't go public. Definitely. How would you say working with National Debt Relief has impact your life. JOAN: Well, really, it would have helped if I could have stayed on the program. Charlotte: We’re recorded.

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Joan Mcgowan
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