Medical Bills Could Lower Your Credit Score
Among the most common credit score killers is medical bills. There are a lot of instances where your score can suffer because of a misunderstanding with your insurance or your doctor. This could actually dock you big points for something that isn’t actually your fault. And then there are time where your score suffer because you simply just can’t afford the bill.
As a matter of fact, medical bills that go to collections are treated the same way as any other type of bill that goes into collections in the FICO score formula. Experts claim that even just one medical bill that has gone to collections can mess up your credit score by 100 points, thereby compelling you to enact a lengthy credit repair technique to bring the score back up as time passes by.
That being said, understand your insurance: A lot of medical bills go to collections due to people not being able to afford them. One way to better plan and get ready for prospective medical costs is to know and understand your insurance plan. For instance, is it going to cover wellness visits? What about the deductible? Will you need to shell out money out-of-pocket after you meet the deductible? If you are aware of these things, it can better help you prepare should there be a surgical procedure or emergency instead of take a “wait and see” approach for when the comes.
Get a payment plan. Surgeries, procedures as well as hospital stays can build up. A lot of people could not afford to pay the sum of the bill in full right away. Ask the hospital to see if you can have any particular payment plan to make regular installments toward the bill. A lot of hospitals will not charge any interest as long as the balance will be paid within one year or two.
Always have the records and keep them. See to it that you keep all your medical bills and always look into your credit report and be watchful of inaccuracies. If your report doesn’t go hand in hand with your personal records, take immediate action to have any get rid of any discrepancies from your report. Or else, you may need to repair credit for nothing.
Categories: Credit Score Articles Tags: bill, collections, need, payment
Paying Bills on Time
As you may know, credit is one of the biggest problems a person can have. Even most of the world’s countries are in debt. This little devil just gives everyone a headache, but you wouldn’t have any problem to begin with if your credit score was in good shape. Don’t wallow in the doldrums if your score isn’t exactly commendable, you can always do something to improve it. But before getting down to detail, you should first know what credit score is.
Credit score is a numerical expression that shows the creditworthiness of a consumer. Lenders depend on this number to decide whether to approve you for a loan or not. If your credit score is high, you can attain credit from possibly anywhere you want to, depending on your source of income and the like.
Your score drops as you apply for a credit. When you are having a hard time getting approved for loans you are applying for, it basically means you have a poor credit score. To be able to boost it back up, you will have to be on time with your payments. And pay off everything in full amounts.
The majority of people miss a payment here and there, and even just one late payment can hurt your credit score. But there’s always a solution to every problem, first, know what your credit score is. You can get it online from the credit bureaus annually, free.
A surefire way to boost it is by paying your debts on time, there are other things as well. But this should be always on top of your list. When your credit score is improved, you can then start using credit again.
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Categories: Credit Score Articles Tags: bill payment, Bills, bills and credit score, first, payment, time
How much does your credit score increase with excellent payment history for 8 months?
Question by jhhlawrence: How much does your credit score increase with excellent payment history for 8 months?
When I bought my car in November my credit was seriously lacking. Credit score was in the 300’s somewhere. I don’t know much about credit but I know that’s horrible and I only have myself to blame. But in the last 8 months I have paid more than my required monthly amount and have not been late once, not even into the grace period. How much will that raise my credit score? Any answeres would be greatly appreciated!
Best answer:
Answer by MadMan
Not really possible to say as there are lots of variables. You should get you credit report, for free from www.annualcreditreport.com, to check that your lender is reporting your payments to the credit bureaus.
Add your own answer in the comments!