Posts Tagged ‘damaged credit’

Bad Credit? Can’t Get a Credit Card? Yes You Can!

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

There is hope for you if you don’t have credit or your credit gets damaged.  Many people believe that they just have to wait it out.  There are some actions you can take to get you back to a good credit standing.

Most people don’t give much thought to the importance of credit until they need it.Does bad credit keep you from getting a credit card at a decent rate.  Most people want to pay their bills, and remain in good credit standing.Difficult financial situations in your past may deter credit card companies from giving you approval for a traditional credit card.  There is a way around this problem. 

There are a few companies out there that understand your situation, and want to help you to obtain a better credit rating.So these companies offer secured credit cards.  A secured credit card is a card that you make a deposit to which determines your credit limit.Use this card just like a regular credit card but you are limited to the amount of your deposit.Verify that the credit card company reports to the credit agencies before applying.If they don’t report then you aren’t making any ground to improve your scores.When credit card companies report to the major credit reporting companies a secured credit card activity shows that you are paying off your debits and you are less of a risk. 

This is how these cards work.  On the surface it works just like a debit card.Say you start with a $200 deposit to your secured card.You then spend $20 at a restaurant.  Your account balance is almost immediately reduced by $20 to $180.These credit card companies report your information to the major credit agencies.The reporting agency is notified by the credit card company that you have made a $20 purchase and paid your bill.The reporting agency takes into account that you are making good on your charges.  This is a sign of a good borrower.  Even if you have had problems with credit in the past the reporting agency is seeing that you are now less of a default risk thus bumping up your credit score.  After time you become more appealing to other credit card companies and you will more readily be accepted for traditional credit cards. 

Improving your credit is not a quick and easy task.Many things factor into your credit score, but you can do this yourself.A secured credit card may not fix your damaged credit but it is paramount to getting you started.Though your credit score will increase, don’t expect it to reach the 700’s.This will take some time. 

Be sure to read and understand the terms and conditions before applying for any credit card.