I met someone yesterday who told me how she “got even” with her credit card company.
She called in to try and get them to waive the new “maintenance fee” they were going to start charging her next month.
She pointed out that her account was in good standing and in the previous 15 years of having the account there was no such fee.
Why add it now? … The company would not budge, so she got mad and closed her account to “get back at them” and avoid the new fee.
I cringed when she said this because closing an account with such a long credit history could end up lowering her credit score.
Sure, nobody wants to pay an extra $30 or $40 annual fee for an account, but to close the account simply because you got mad at the company isn’t going to help you in the long run.
And it’s not just her. It’s common for people to let anger get the best of them when they’re dealing with credit card companies.
It’s the credit sin of Anger
Some consumers will close their credit card account because of a high interest rate, a fee they disagree with or something else that made them angry. Closing an account with a long credit history can be a deadly sin to your credit report and your credit score.
It doesn’t help that there is a popular myth saying that closing your accounts is good for your credit. In reality, it will impact your total credit utilization ratio and your length of credit history. These two credit scoring factors add up to approximately 45% of your credit score.
Another credit sin is Greed.
Keeping up with the Jones’ can put a heavy burden on your credit. Yes, it feels good to have material possessions and our credit cards help us to obtain those items but if you’re maxing out credit cards to do this, then your credit scores will take a large hit even if all your payments are on time.
Credit utilization is worth almost 1/3 of your credit score and if you carry a balance of more than 30% of your total credit limit, your credit score will drop.
The sin of Sloth (one of the easiest and hardest credit sins to avoid).
Credit can be frustrating sometimes. And for many people it has that intimidating feel like in grade school when you knew your parent’s would see your report card before you did…
Many Americans avoid looking at their credit score, and do not try to improve it because they’re afraid to see what their score really is and they aren’t sure how to improve it.
Fear of the unknown can be tough to get past, but the sooner people review a copy of their credit reports, the sooner they can take the steps to improve it.
A study showed 75% of credit reports in the U.S. have inaccurate data that can prevent the consumer from obtaining a loan. The good news is, you can get inaccurate data fixed quickly. Usually with a simple letter to the company holding that account.
In the Credit Repair Doctor® there are template letters to help you get inaccuracies removed from your credit reports and it takes less than 5 minutes to use one! Don’t let credit intimidate you and keep you from taking the steps to improve and build up your credit scores.
One of the most popular parts of the Credit Repair Doctor® is the 5 Simple Steps To Easy Credit Repair that walks you through the steps that will wash away these credit sins and help you repair your credit as quickly as possible. The 5 Simple Steps To Easy Credit Repair is setup so you can’t make a mistake and it takes less than an hour a month.