If instead of starting your day with an aromatic cup of coffee, you begin going through the pile of unpaid bills, collection notices, or another loan rejection letter, you might be in trouble. Lousy credit can transform many areas of your life, including your general well-being, personal and professional affairs. As of September 2019, Florida’s total credit card debt reached $66.4 billion, rising by $2.3 billion in the second quarter. With such an enormous burden, no wonder so many Floridians are struggling with a low average credit score, affecting their ability to lead stable and prosperous lives.

Unfortunately, your credit score is not just a number, but it essentially represents your reputation. Your credit demonstrates your financial responsibility that may also affect non-fiscal matters, such as renting an apartment or getting a promotion. While doable on your own, credit repair is a laborious task, requiring endless patience, determination, and a lot of free time on your hands. Here’s why:

You do not have one, not even two, but multiple credit scores.

If you ever pulled your credit score, you might have noticed varying digits from different credit reporting agencies. Ultimately, your credit score is a combination of data from the three major nationwide credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Distinctive scoring models found on your credit reports are often referred to as FICO score or VantageScore, and those can affect the number you are seeing. In addition, utilizing the best online tools for checking your score can provide you with the exact or similar information that banks and lenders see.

What Steps Should You Take When Your Credit Score is Low?

Checking your credit score can initially be heartbreaking, but it is an essential step in figuring out what happened in the first place. When you stumble upon a not-so-perfect number, it is time to dig into that credit report of yours to see what caused it to sink. Believe it or not, your credit reports may contain inaccurate information, and the first step is to look for any mistakes that your file contains. Any errors on your credit report are subject to dispute, and if they cannot confirm the accuracy of the reported information, credit bureaus are required by law to remove them.

After peeking into your credit reports, take a look into your financial behavior and spending habits, so you can determine a concrete budget for paying off your credit cards and other dues. Start by repaying the highest balances by contributing more than the minimum payment – the accumulated interest might be the factor keeping your balances high. The credit utilization ratio is an essential component of your overall credit score. By getting rid of your debt, you are reducing the credit utilization ratio and, consequently, raising your credit score. Having numerous debts and collections significantly impacts your creditworthiness, identifying you as a risk for prospective lenders. As you can see, the entire credit repair process is a time-consuming one, requiring your constant attention, negotiation, and diplomacy skills, especially when communicating with creditors. Pyramid Credit Repair has been helping improve individual credit scores for years, working along with the best legal and financial resources to deliver effective results.

Hard Pulls versus Soft Pulls

Credit inquiries can be either hard or soft. This is the most crucial distinction every borrower should know, especially when investigating your credit file or opening an account. There is a big misconception that checking your credit score may lower it. And here’s where hard and soft pulls come into play: hard credit inquiries may temporarily reduce your credit score by few points and remain on your credit report for up to two years, while soft credit queries do not affect your creditworthiness and are most often pulled for personal reference. If you utilize services such as Credit Karma, the system performs a soft check allowing you to gain insight into your score without impacting it. However, attempting to open an account in BestBuy will result in a hard credit inquiry, which may slightly and briefly affect your credit score.

The conclusion: frequently checking your credit score by conducting a soft check is an excellent way to manage and monitor your affairs. Besides, you are entitled to obtain free copies of your credit report from all three nationwide credit reporting agencies once every twelve months. Both are extremely important in ensuring your credit is in good standing, and regular inspection eliminates the risk of fraud and inaccuracies.

Missed Payments – Your Biggest Enemy

Here’s what you need to know about missed payments: they pour your credit score down the drain. The typical billing cycle is approximately thirty days, and by missing the full period, you can experience a drop in credit score of up to one hundred points! That is a tremendous impact, visible on your credit report for up to seven years. With that being said, avoid missed payments at all costs, specifically those that are thirty days past due.

If you cannot make payments due to personal or financial circumstances, informing your lender about your situation is your only chance at sparing yourself a lot of trouble.

Why Hire a Credit Repair Company?

Reputable and experienced credit repair companies utilize patented methodology and a vast array of tools, data, and analytics to enhance your credibility, execute a productive dispute process, negate all inaccurate information on your credit reports, and provide counseling related to your financial and credit IQ. Working alongside the best representatives, account managers, and other industry experts, you can sleep better knowing your affairs are managed like clockwork.

Credit repair is our daily bread, and we possess the hidden knowledge that creditors won’t let you know about. Taking advantage of the expertise significantly reduces the time of your credit repair, while your individual journey can take months or even years. Pyramid Credit Repair does not work based on assumptions but implements meticulously calculated data to raise your credit score and manage your credit affairs. If you still have doubts, schedule your free initial consultation today and see for yourself what can be done.