You might be wondering, "Why did my credit score fall?" It's a good idea take a look at the credit score and check for red flags. Negative factors can include missed payments and requests for credit. Consider disputing any recent decreases in your score.
Hard inquiries
A few ways hard inquiries can negatively impact your credit score are: They will show up on you credit report for two years depending on how many of them you have. In addition, they lower your score for a few months to a year. Your credit health and score will determine the extent of the impact, but it could be as high as ten to fifteen points. Depending on your situation, one or two inquiries may not be significant, but multiple inquiries can make you look more risky to lenders.
Closing a credit card
Closing your credit card could have a negative impact on credit scores. This is because it reduces the average age your accounts. In some cases, you can minimize the effect by paying off the balance on the other cards. Knowing your credit score, and the reasons for it, will help you make informed decisions about closing a account.
Medical debt
Your credit score might have been damaged if there is a history medical debt. There are steps that you can take to improve your credit score. First, determine if you have insurance that covers medical debt. Find out what procedures are covered under your policy if it is.
Late payments
Late payments can hurt your credit score. However, you can avoid them by paying your bills promptly. In general, your credit score is not affected by late payments. If you are in such a situation, contact your creditor to work out a repayment program. Setting up automatic payments can prevent you from missing your payments. You should also avoid large purchases on credit as this can increase your credit utilization. This ratio accounts for 30% of your FICO score, so the lower your credit utilization ratio, the better your score will be.
Credit report inaccuracies
Credit reports that are inaccurate can affect your credit score. If you discover an error in your credit report, make sure to dispute it immediately. This can be done online by contacting credit bureaus. To receive a response, they may take up to thirty-five to 45 days. However, most disputes are resolved in two weeks.
Identity theft
When someone steals your identity, it can severely affect your credit score. There are many factors that can cause this. Credit utilization ratio is one of these most important factors. If you're using more than 50% of your available credit to make payments, your score could drop by 100 points. Keep your credit utilization ratio under 30%. You can repair your credit score by taking steps to correct identity theft.