If you’re trying to get a mortgage or loan and suddenly found out your credit score isn’t as high as you thought it was, you may be asking, “How do I fix my credit score fast?” Most changes that impact credit scores take time. You won’t be able to fix your credit score overnight, but there are some steps you can take that can help bring your score up as soon as possible.
Catch Up on Past Due Payments
One of the things that can bring down your score is having late payments showing on your credit report. If any of your bills are past due, get them current as soon as you can. Payments that are more than 30 days past due have a negative impact on your credit, so before you worry about anything else, make a plan to catch up and to pay all your bills on time going forward.
Getting Out of Debt
A factor that potential lenders look at is how much debt you’re carrying and whether you can afford to take on one more bill. If there’s a way to pay down a chunk of your debt right away, that will help to bring your credit score up fast. The percent of available credit that you’re using on your revolving accounts such as credit cards is also considered, so try to pay down your credit cards.
If your credit cards are maxed out, it’s time to curb your spending. Are there expenses you can cut that aren’t really necessary? Is there a way to increase your income with a side hustle so that you can focus on reducing your total debt? If you can get a personal loan to pay off all or part of your credit cards, that can help to improve your score.
Checking Your Credit Report
An important step to take if you’re trying to improve your credit score is to review what’s on your credit report. A surprising number of people find mistakes on their credit reports. Errors that could be on your credit report include:
- Personal information such as name, address, and social security number not reporting correctly
- Payments that were paid on time showing as paid late
- Accounts that have been paid in full showing as open
- Accounts showing wrong balances
- Accounts reporting more than once
You could even find accounts that don’t belong to you on your credit report. If that happens, it could mean someone has gotten ahold of your personal information and may be using it to fraudulently open accounts.
Fixing Mistakes on Your Credit Reports
Any mistakes you find on a credit report should be disputed right away. The sooner incorrect information is removed, the sooner your score may go up.
Find out how easy it is to correct errors on your credit report by partnering with Dovly. We are an AI credit engine, and we make the process of disputing errors as seamless as possible. We deal with credit bureaus so you don’t have to. Try it risk-free with our free membership tier.
