Trevor Newberry
Trevor Newberry, 43, is a teacher for a senior high school in South Carolina. Since his graduation from the University of South Carolina, he has thought he’s been pretty savvy with his finances. He usually pays his bills promptly and does not even have a credit card. Then when Trevor Newberry found that his credit score was 542, he was shocked, to put it mildly. After further investigation into the credit score, he found out that a medical bill from his 30’s had not been paid. He had no clue about this bill as he had moved addresses and hadn’t received the bill. The collection agency had this bill for four years and it’s still marked as “UNPAID”. After seeking to negotiate a “Pay-to-delete”, and failing, he made a decision to not pay the amount and wait for seven years to pass as well as the account to dissipate. He cannot get any personal lines of credit, a lease for a car, or even open a new checking account at a local bank.
What does this score mean?
For people who have got a credit score around 540, then you understand that this isn’t the ideal credit score to have. But, don’t worry. With only a few steps, you’ll be able to bump that credit score up before you know it. For people who have a credit score around 540, chances are that you won’t be able to experience some of life’s greatest moments. Having a credit score around 540, you’d not likely find a very good mortgage on a house. With this range of credit score, you almost certainly wouldn’t be able to get a charge card with an excellent apr. Moreover, this credit score will make it hard for you to lease a car or truck.
How do you get a credit score around 540?
If you find yourself having a credit score around 540, it’s likely you have made such mistakes with all your finances:
• Having a current foreclosure on a house.
• Having several items in collections.
• Having claimed bankruptcy recently.
• Having an open loan – as an example, a student loan.
• Having bills that you have not paid.
• Having accounts with debt collectors that are not paid.
• Consistently being late on payments.
How can you improve this credit score?
For you to improve this credit score, consider taking some of the following steps:
1) If you’ve got troubles with your credit score, try contacting a credit counselor. Each credit situation is special so, the solutions vary for each individual.
2) Give it time! We understand it can be a large amount of pressure to have to wait for a score to increase. However, this will likely not take place overnight. Time will heal this credit score – if you take necessary measures to help.
3) Get some lines of credit open and be sure to pay off your statement, fully, each month.
4) If you have an account in collections, it’s best to pay for the amount due. There is a significant difference from a collection account that’s “PAID” and “UNPAID”. This can be the difference in you getting approved for your lease or just being rejected.
5) If you have got more than one accounts in collections and do not have enough money to pay for every one of them off immediately, you should attempt eliminating all the items with the largest value, as an alternative to smaller values.
