Boost Your Credit Score in 30 Days by Doing This

It is important to review your credit report for inaccuracies in any of these four identifying factors. Any mistake can adversely affect your credit score. Some common mistakes found in credit reports are:

Misspelled first or last name - This can cause the credit bureau to pick up the information of another person’s report. Make sure that your first, last, and even middle name is spelled correctly.

Improper suffix – This is a common mistake among men who are named after their father. Make sure that your credit report has you listed as a Junior or Senior so that you don’t get reported as your father or son.



Wrong address – Something this minor can cause a major problem. Imagine if you have a common name like John Smith. If your address is listed wrong, you can be getting negative information for the John Smith at that address.

Wrong credit accounts – Make sure the credit accounts listed on your report are yours; sometimes the bureaus do make mistakes and put other people account into your report. Also check to see if old accounts are closed and payment history is updated.

Insufficiently reported trade lines – Just as making sure you do not have wrong accounts on your report, you want to make sure that your positive accounts are being reported as well. Check your report to see if all of your accounts are being reported and up to date. You do not want your hard work in maintaining your bills go unnoticed.

Incorrect Public Records – This is very common on credit reports. Wrong or old tax liens and court judgments are reported by your local state or municipality all of the time. You could have paid off your state taxes three years ago and it is still being reported as delinquent. Unfortunately, once the county gets paid, they are not as diligent to update the status. Incorrect public records are the easiest trade lines to fix on a credit report. Just dispute the item through your bureau, and nine times out of ten, the county will not respond back to your bureau within 30 days.

Unnecessary Inquiries – Too many inquiries on your report can hurt your score. There are several companies that can get access to your report without you knowing about it. Credit card and insurance companies buy lists from other companies with your information on it to send you promotional information about their company; and they pull your credit too see if you are eligible for their program. If several companies are doing this, you can have up to 20 unsolicited inquiries on your report per month!!! Each bureau has a service in which you can opt out of being placed on public lists that are bought by credit card and insurance companies. You can also put a fraud alert on your report so that you are notified anytime someone wants to pull your credit report.

Sort through your credit report like a fine tooth comb so that you can make sure your report is as accurate it can be. Remember, any mistake can impact your score which can affect your interest rate, the amount of credit you can get, and your insurance rates. This can cost you $$$.