Strategies for protecting your credit rating during uncertainty | Credit Sesame

Summary

• If you are searching for payment deferments, make sure you get agreements in writing from your lenders.
• Protecting your credit score and credit report is the responsibility. Monitor your credit report on a regular basis to make sure there are no errors.
• Monitor all three reports from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
• If you're worried about your finances, speak to your creditors and set up some type of payment schedule.

Your credit rating is very important and can be an invaluable asset for securing lines of credit and loans, especially during times of economic uncertainty. Even though you have observed a loss of revenue and have accumulated more debt because of the COVID-19 pandemic, you will find actions to help protect your credit score:

• Get relief agreements on paper: If you are looking for temporary relief, you have to first speak to your provider to go over a contract. Skipping payments with no agreement in position could cause a negative effect on your credit rating. Your payment history generally makes up about 35% of the score. If you're worried about paying your bills, probably the most beneficial actions would be to contact your creditors and work out some form of payment schedule.
• Monitor your credit and dispute the errors: Error correction is a straightforward way to enhance your score, and it's key that you monitor your report on regularly. And, when you are unemployed, you don't want to compound the problem with errors. Understand your credit history by checking the 3 bureau reports (TransUnion, Experian, Equifax) regularly to higher spot and report any errors that may harm your credit reputation. Should you choose see a mistake, contact each bureau to dispute inaccurate information. Credit Sesame can be a free valuable resource to help you monitor your finances over these uncertain times.
• Have Cash in Reserve: As you are able to, build an emergency fund so you have access to cash and prevent adding more charges for your credit cards. You can also use some of this cash to pay down debt to release some of your credit and improve your credit usage. In addition to setting aside cash from your income sources, you are able to bring about your emergency fund by seeing if you have any unclaimed money. Go to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators website, and enter your name and state.
• Request a Limit Raise: If you are employed, another easy way to lift up your score would be to request a credit limit raise. You can check out your credit card provider and request a line of credit increase, which typically bumps your score because you’ll lower credit utilization with responsible use. Be sure that you ask if there’s a hard pull credit report involved before you request the rise (which could hurt your score if you have a short credit rating).

In addition to the guidelines above, Credit Sesame can be a free valuable resource that will help you monitor your credit score during these uncertain times.

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