How Do I Protect, Use and Establish a Credit?

  • It’s easy to qualify for credit if you already have a good credit history, but what if you have never used credit before? That is a common problem for people who recently arrived in the United States; just started working, who work at home, always pay with cash, and for those who don’t have assets or accounts in their own name. One of the first steps is to start establishing a credit history.
  • Here are a few ideas to start establishing, understanding, and maintaining a good credit history. Also don’t forget about our new ​VISA Classic Credit Card ​which is an awesome way to start your credit history today.

Understanding Credit Score

  • A credit score is based on the information about you and your credit experience such as; your bill paying history, the number and types of accounts you have, late payments made, collection action, and last but not least outstanding debt.
  • Creditors will compare the information to the credit performance of consumers with similar profiles.
  • Points are awarded for each factor that helps predict who is most likely to repay a debt. The total number of points on your credit help determine how creditworthy you are.

Tips for Improving Your Credit Score

  • Fix errors on your credit report
  • Close account you no longer use
  • Pay all bills on time
  • Reduce debt levels
  • Never “MAX OUT” any credit cards, never bounce checks

Tips for Protecting Your Credit

  • Always safeguard your credit, debit, and ATM cards, as well as your account and personal identification number (PIN).
  • Carry only the cards you expect to use, and keep the other ones in a safe place. Also when you discard documents that have account numbers on them, be sure that the numbers ​CAN NOT​ be read- if you can shred them.

To order a copy of your credit report, contact one of the three following companies:

EQUIFAX
800.685.1111
www.equifax.com

EXPERIAN
888.397.3742
www.experian.com

TRANSUNION
800.888.4213
www.transunion.com

Order Free Credit Reports Online

Due to the ​F​air and ​A​ccurate ​C​redit ​T​ransactions ​A​ct (FACT Act), you are able toorder one free credit report per year from each of the 3 major consumer credit reporting companies – Eqifax, Experian and TransUnion.

To receive your free credit reports online, visit the official website:www.annualcreditreport.com

NOTE: ​Annual Credit Report provides the only truly free,government-backwebsite for checking credit scores.

  • When researching credit report services, be aware of “free” claims and confirm all information related to your request prior to submission.
  • Expect to pay a normal fee when requesting a credit report, unless your loan was denied due to information in your report.
  • Colorado residents may obtain one free credit report each year.

Questions About Credit Agencies Can be Directed to:

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
www.ftc.gov
887.FTC.HELP

NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR CONSUMER CREDIT
www.nfcc.org
800.388.2227