There are 5 things that can affect your FICO Scores

1) Payment History. This has the biggest effect on your FICO scores. It accounts for 35% of your score. Paying a debt n time and in full has a positive impact. Late payments, judgments and charge-offs have a negative effect. You should know that if you make a late payment your FICO score WILL go down.

2) Outstanding Balances. This has a 30% effect on your credit scores. The debt ratio or outstanding balance to available credit is important. Keeping that below 50% will help you credit scores. Keeping it below 30% will raise you credit score even more.

3) Length of credit has a 15% impact on your FICO scores. The longer the time that a credit line is open will help your credit scores go up. It is never a good idea to close an account today. Opening new credit cards will decrease the average length, and therefore hurt your credit score.

4) Type of Credit. This has a 10% impact on your credit score. It's good to have a mix of installment loans like car and furniture loans, home loans, and credit card loans.

5) Inquiries. Inquiries have a 10% impact on your credit score. Hard inquiries for credit have a negative impact on your credit score. Each hard inquiry can cost 2 - 50 points on a credit score. Inquiries stay on your credit for up to one year even though you may not see them after 90 days..

Financial Empowerment Network Team and Prime Financial Credit Services

New Rules Issued by the Federal Reserve and Federal Trade Commission about Consumer Credit

Consumers taking out auto, home mortgages, credit cards and other types of loans will be notified when they are offtered an interest rate that is higher than is customary due to their poor credit histories. This is under new rules issued on 12/23/09 than become effective on Jan., 1 2011.

Lenders traditionally offer borrowers rate and terms based on their credit reports, which reflects the borrowers' ability to repay the loans. This is called "risk-based pricing."

The new rules set forth by the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission entitle borrowers who receive pricing notifications to also be entitled to a free credit report to check the accuracy of their credit report.

Borrowers will be notified about the higher interest rates "after the terms of credit have been set, but before the consumer becomes contractually obligated on the credit transaction," according to the rules.

This notification is required when the lender - based on the borrowers' credit report - offers credit terms "that are materially less favorable" than the terms offered or provided to other consumers, the regulators said.

Lenders will not have to provide this notification if they offer borrowers a free credit score, Federal Reserve attorneys explained. A consumer must normally pay a fee - between $8-$11 - to obtain their credit scores, the attorney said. Credit reports don't contain credit scores, they said.

This provision, announced yesterday, is aimed at helping borrowers better understand the rates they are being offered on particular loans and to get more information about their credit reports.

Keith Dienstl is a member of the Financial Empowerment Network Team and Prime Financial Credit Services you can also visit Credit Repair Services for more information on Keith Dienstl.

Correcting negative errors on your Credit Report

Prior to contacting the credit reporting agency, you should contact your creditor first and then allow a little lead time before sending your dispute letter. By the time the dispute is verified, the creditor will have hopefully made the correction already.

You can also initiate an investigation from many online credit reports by just following the links provided and checking the disputed items as directed. Often times, there isn't a place for remarks so you'll simple check a multiple choice reason for each dispute. The process can often times be easier than drafting a dispute letter.

If changes aren't made and the credit reporting agency says the original information is accurate, it must provide you with a written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the person who made the report. If you still disagree, initiate a second investigation. Unfortunately, reporting agencies often try to sidestep that requirement, giving you standard, computer-generated information rather than the facts you need to find the person or department who made the negative report. If your attempts to correct the entry are unsuccessful, you can ask the reporting agency to insert a 100-character explanation next to it that explains your side of the story.

Remember bankruptcies remain on your credit report for ten years, while other types of entries are generally reported for seven years. If an account that was previously past due has been brought current, and has been either paid off or kept current for at least a year, the creditor might agree to an early deletion of the past due references. Additionally, you can use the tactic of disputing a negative item even if you believe it is accurate, but you'll have to follow your conscience on this one.

is a member of the Financial Empowerment Network Team and Prime Financial Credit Services you can also visit Ultrafitcredit for more information on .

Understanding Your Credit Report

A credit report contains all your information that is reported to the three credit bureaus. The three credit bureaus are Experian located in Chester, PA; Equifax located in Atlanta, GA; and Equifax located in Allen, TX. The information reported to the credit bureaus is your payment history that contains the following information:

Personal Information - the personal information on the credit report lists the basic information about the individual. None of the information listed in the personal information effects the credit score calculation. The personal information on the credit report contains any name used, birth name, AKA or any name the creditor has used when applying for credit. The date of birth, current and previous address, employment history, and the dates the information was reported are also listed, credit report.

Summary - the summary section of the credit report contains a categorized list of all the accounts on the credit report. This synopsis allows the viewer a quick review of the credit report and compares the data that is reported to the three credit bureaus.

Account History - The account history on the credit report contains all the account a person has open or closed. This section has credit history of your payments. Each of the account will contain: Account Number, Account Type, Creditor Name, Monthly Payment, Highest Balance Owed, Credit Limit or Loan Amount, Date Open or Closed, Payment History, and if it is a joint or individual account.

Inquires - the credit report contains two types of inquires. The first type of inquire on the credit report is inquires where a business pulled the credit and the second type is when an individual applies for credit. When you apply for credit it remains on your credit report for two years. When you show a history of declined credit applications it makes you look desperate. More than likely a lender will not loan money to a desperate person. Multiple approved applications send a different message. When you're approved for a loan or a line of credit, the lender has made a commitment to loan you the funds. Your ability to repay these lines of credit and loans depends on your income. Your capacity to take on additional debt is diminished by the amount of debt or potential debt outstanding.

Public record information - Public records on a credit report may include information such as judgments, foreclosures, lawsuits, wage attachments, bankruptcies, state and federal tax liens, and past-due child support. This information is reported by county, state, and federal courts to a variety of credit reporting agencies. The agencies retain the information in a credit report and use the information along with other pertinent credit data to determine your credit score. Since public records reflect poorly on your credit rating, you'll want to make sure that this section of your report stays spotless. This information will remain on your credit report for seven years. However, if the record relates to bankruptcy, it will remain on your report for 10 years.

I am a member of the Financial Empowerment Network Team and Prime Financial Credit Services

Your Credit Score Is Yours to Control

Are you confused by credit, and how to create a better credit score? Don't feel bad, many consumers and business people find it hard to understand why their credit score is low. They pay their bills. And when they are a little late on a payment, they pay extra fees to the Lenders to make up for that. The Lenders enjoy great profits, and yet, the Borrower gets penalized more. Is it fair? I say NO! Enough! It's time for us to take control of our credit scores, and get them to reflect accurately, what kind of people we really are. In fact, the United States government agrees. Toady, there are laws to protect us, and allow us to take back control of our credit histories and credit scores.

Use these laws to make sure you aren't forced to pay more for auto loans, credit cards, mortgages, insurance and utilities. Besides costing you more money in monthly bills, we've been hearing more about people who get job offers that are later taken back, because of a "bad" credit score, a result of having been out of work for a year or longer. They didn't use credit to support a luxurious lifestyle. Ironically, they are penalized by taking away the very thing that they need to get back on their feet and to get back to paying their bills. Is it just me, or does it seem ridiculous to you as well? Credit reporting agencies, and Lenders, seem to believe that it's their right to penalize consumers to any level that they choose. The US government says it isn't their right. It is their right to report late payments and defaults on payment agreements, to the extent that they report it accurately. Is the information on your credit report accurate?

Frits Tessers is a member of the Financial Empowerment Network Team and Prime Financial Credit Services
you can also visit Personal Coaching for more information on Frits Tessers.