A key component to repairing credit is being able to access one’s credit history in the hopes of understanding how much progress has to be made before one can be considered a good candidate for a loan or credit card. Indeed, many of the entries on a credit history report may not reflect good credit practices or positive credit events. Financial maneuvers such as declaring bankruptcy and restructuring your debt get factored into your credit history.
For those who aim to repair their credit or have a reasonably good credit score but are still looking to improve it, a critical, direct strategy for turning things around is to evidence solid debt/loan management to credit reporting agencies when creditors fail to disclose this information. Making timely payments is one important way to improve one’s credit.
Other absences on a credit history report may have little to do with the contents or nature of monies borrowed, but of standard identifying information. Some of these details, while obviously necessary for a complete personal credit history, may nevertheless have an unexpectedly large impact on your credit if missing.
For example, some debtors might think it inadvisable to include a telephone number in their credit history report, especially as creditors might see it and exploit it to pester their customers at home. On the flip side, though, most creditors already know your number and are calling it if you continue suffer from debt. More importantly, a permanent phone number is a hallmark of home ownership and, thus, financial stability.
In addition, if you are recently married or divorced and you think the inclusion or exclusion of your spouse’s credit history is advantageous to your own ability to generate good credit, you may also ask a credit bureau if they will consider adding your partner’s records to the mix. This may be especially prevalent if you and your wife or husband have opened a joint checking account. While credit report agencies are under no obligation to affix this to your credit history report, if you have maintained a friendly, respectful rapport with yours, circumstances may turn out in your favor.
