Why Is My Credit Score Not Going Up?
Watching your credit score sit at a number and never move can be frustrating. But don’t worry: this doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing something wrong. If you are one of many people asking the question, “Why is my credit score not going up?” then we have some possible explanations for you.
Why Is My Credit Score Not Going Up?
Your Credit Card Balances Are Too High
It’s well-known that making on-time payments has a huge impact on your credit score, but just having a good record when it comes to your payments won’t be enough. Obviously, it’s quite important, seeing as it can hurt your score by about 100 points depending on your history, but there’s another important factor to consider: debt.
It is key to keep your ever-changing credit balances, like credit cards, as low as you possibly can. It’s all in relation to how you utilize your credit. Revolving credit accounts usually have limits, so the closer you get to those limits, the more you’re utilizing your credit. (For more tips on how to boost your credit limits, read this.) Your credit scores will stay down when you maintain high utilization, which is when your debt is more than 30% of your available credit limit.
You’re Missing Something Important
On-time payments and credit utilization are the most influential factors on your credit score, but there are other things that help determine it, too. It’s also important to keep in mind how often you apply for new credit, the length of your credit history and the mix of accounts in your file.
Your length of credit history is a tough one to acquire. You really have to be patient. You can’t make time go by faster, so really all you can do is be an active credit user for as long as possible. A good tip is to keep your oldest credit account open, because your credit age is an average of all your accounts’ ages. Even if you come up with a really great reason to close an old account, consider holding off on doing so.
As for mix of accounts, you want to show that you can responsibly manage different kinds of credit, so you want to have active installment and revolving credit accounts to show that. It does not actually mean that much for your credit if your just paying your credit cards on time, so it’s important to have an active installment.
It can be fairly tough handling just one credit card account, but if you can manage it well, that can do a lot of good on its own for your credit. The mix of accounts plays only a small role in determining you credit score, so opening a second account just for the sake of raising a good score to a better score might not be the best move – especially if you can’t manage it and end up in debt.
Something Negative from Your Past Is Bringing You Down
Admit it—we’ve all made financial mistakes. Some are just worse than others. So if you are making every single payment on time and keeping your credit utilization low, but still seeing a stagnant credit score, you may want to look at other aspects of your credit history. If you’ve gone through something negative like a bankruptcy, collection or a foreclosure, that information can remain on your credit report for up to 7 years before you might see the effects lessen. During this time, it can help to focus on the things you can control, like making payments on time and keeping your credit utilization low.
If you’re looking for a quick fix on your credit, it can be tough—but we have some ways to boost your score in just 30 days.
There Are Errors on Your Credit Report
When was the last time you checked your credit reports? It’s a good idea to look over them on a regular basis because there could be something there causing your credit to stay down. If you find an error on your credit report you can dispute it with each of the credit bureaus reporting the wrong information. These errors can be anything as little as a misspelled name or as problematic as a wrongful late-payment notation.
If you find several problems or are overwhelmed by the task of trying to fix your credit, you can enlist the professionals at Go Clean Credit to help out. A legitimate credit repair company will not promise a specific jump in your credit score – that is illegal.
Have you asked yourself, “Why is my credit score not going up?” Do you have anymore questions or tips? Let us know!
No matter what your situation, Go Clean Credit has a solution. We have many credit repair programs that are available to help you overcome your credit situation and place you back on the path to financial success. Real credit restoration is not a once size fits all model and we tailor your needs to the right program, but most people can start for just $99 per month.
We have fixed price programs that get you back on track in as little as 5 months, debt resolution solutions, programs geared toward people who have had recent short sales or foreclosures and many others. Help is just a free phone call away, or you can fill out an appointment request. Contact Go Clean Credit to schedule a free consultation today.