You won't be able to remove negative information in your credit reports that's accurate. But deleting accounts you didn't open or disputing a late payment you believe was paid on time, for example, could help protect your credit score.
If your credit score isn't meeting your standard, it's understandable that you'd like to know how to wipe your credit history clean. Unfortunately, you can't change the past, but the good news is that your credit history refreshes over about seven to 10 years. So, details of credit history do fall away after a while.
If you have poor credit, you might want to clean up your credit report, but the only way to do this is to slowly improve your credit score, and it takes time. You can get incorrect information removed from your credit file by reporting the mistake to your credit reference agency.
A credit reporting company generally can report most negative information for seven years. Information about a lawsuit or a judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer. Bankruptcies can stay on your report for up to ten years.
Most negative information generally stays on credit reports for 7 years. Bankruptcy stays on your Equifax credit report for 7 to 10 years, depending on the bankruptcy type. Closed accounts paid as agreed stay on your Equifax credit report for up to 10 years.
The most important step to fix your bad credit is to start paying all of your bills on time. If you have delinquent accounts, bring them up to date, then put them on autopay so you never miss another payment. Paying down the amount you owe on credit cards and loans will also help improve your bad credit.
Fair credit score (500-649): Late or irregular credit card bill payments and EMI payments can get you stuck in a fair credit score range. While you are still considered a risk by lenders, you are still more likely to get approved for some credit applications.
Depending on your needs and the state of your credit, you could end up paying thousands of dollars to a credit repair company. That being said, there is no need to pay for credit repair services. Anyone who claims a special ability to “fix” or “clean up” your credit for a fee is probably scamming you.
Make a Goodwill Request For Deletion
If you have a good relationship with a creditor that has listed a late or missed payment, consider sending a goodwill request for deletion letter. The letter requests the original creditor to pretty please remove the offending item from your credit report.
You generally cannot have negative but accurate information removed from your credit report. You can, however, dispute accurate information if it appears multiple times. Most negative information will remain in your report for seven years.
Remember: Accurately reported late payments can't be removed from your credit reports. And you can't pay someone else to remove accurate information from your reports either. But late payments will fall off your credit reports after seven years.
One of the fastest ways to clean up your credit report is to challenge the accuracy of information. If you're able to prove something is inaccurate, the credit bureau must take action to remove or correct it. Otherwise, cleaning up credit missteps you made in the past can take time.
If you have a credit score that's in the “poor” range—between 300 and 579—finding a loan can be hard.
Equifax: Good – 661 to 734; very good – 735 to 852; excellent – 853-1,200. Experian: Good – 625-699; very good – 700-799; excellent 800-1,000. Illion: Good – 500-699; great – 700-799; excellent – 800-1,000.
In Australia, an average credit score usually falls somewhere between 650 and 750 out of 1000. A credit score calculated between this range is generally considered to be good, with lenders seeing you as a reliable borrower who is likely to repay debts on time.
Focus On Small, Regular Payments
Your payment history is the biggest single factor that makes up your credit score because it comprises about 35% of your score's calculation. This means that one of the quickest ways you can raise your score is to make minimum payments on all of your accounts every month.
What is bad credit in Australia? Both Experian and Equifax (popular credit bureaus) state that a credit rating of 500 or lower is bad credit, meaning you have a bad credit history (with poor FICO scores). Specifically, bad credit for Experian is less than 579 and less than 549 for Equifax.
For instance, going from a poor credit score of around 500 to a fair credit score (in the 580-669 range) takes around 12 to 18 months of responsible credit use. Once you've made it to the good credit zone (670-739), don't expect your credit to continue rising as steadily.
While it takes years for these events to vanish from your report, you can help your score recover from smaller negative events in months. For example, your credit score can rebound from a hard credit inquiry in about three months, assuming you continue making smart financial choices.
The average credit score among Australians is 846 according to credit reporting company Equifax. That means on average Australians have a 'very good' credit score. Women (858) have a higher average credit score than men (836), while the average credit score is higher for older Australians.