Here are a few things to de-mystify the credit industry as we know it.
• There is more than one credit score out there. Each agency that you may apply for credit from will have a limit that they use for any applications. You don’t always have the same one with each place. Ask and they can tell you.
• If you need to check your score—DO it! It will not hurt your score. It’s your credit report. If you have a credit reporting agency doing that, turn them into the District Attorney’s office and file a formal complaint. Then hit them with a ding through the Better Business Bureau.
• If you have an account you have paid off and you don’t want it any longer, close it. There is a lot of talk about percentages of your income and accounts left open and closing it will be detrimental to your credit. For goodness sakes, if you don’t want the thing hanging out there any longer, close it!
• Any account that you have paid off, will show a positive result. If you had late payments on it, it will show that as well. But the major result is: once it is paid and taken care of, it will show you did this. Positive results overall.
• It takes years to build your credit up and only seconds to destroy it. It will show results over time, but if you have late payments, they come screaming through right away. After nighty days you will have had three reports from the credit agency as they take a sneak peek at your account and what has been going on.
If you’ve had the bad credit blues
Now that you are looking at your credit report, you may have discovered that getting a merchant account might take a bit of work. You will have to work through the cobwebs to discover how to get a bad credit merchant account.
Things you can do
As you begin the application process for your merchant account, discover what you need to do to clean up your credit. Read your credit report and work through all the issues and begin to make payment arrangements for the accounts that need attention.
Do not over-extend yourself. That will just make things worse. Begin with payment for all of them that make you feel comfortable. Even ten dollars will start you on the road to success. If you overextend what you are doing, it just puts you at odds with other accounts. So don’t do it.
Overall
Don’t delay. If you have had health issues, you will need to recover before you start again, but if there is no reason for any delay, begin as soon as possible. The sooner you start the better your credit will look and the easier it will be for the underwriters at the merchant account servicer to continue to serve you and your merchant account. Good luck and here’s looking to a great credit day for you.