Rapid Rescoring: Updating Your Credit Report Quickly

Imagine sitting in a mortgage lender’s office and being told that your credit score just falls short of what you need to qualify for a loan with very favorable terms. In this situation, a slight improvement in your credit score could save you a lot of money. If only there was a way to improve your credit and raise your credit score quickly. There is. It’s called rapid rescoring.

It works by submitting proof of recent positive changes to your credit accounts to the three major credit bureaus. They then factor this new information into your credit score with a rapid rescore.  Lenders will usually receive the updated information within 3-7 days. This is much faster than waiting for the normal account cycle, which can be a month or more.

What Is Rapid Rescoring?

Normally, lenders and credit bureaus update account information every 30 to 45 days. Rapid rescoring speeds up this process. Rapid rescoring is a process where a lender, usually a mortgage lender, submits proof to a credit reporting agency of recent changes to a borrower’s credit profile. Since the information is new, it’s not yet reflected on their credit report. The lender pays a fee to the credit reporting agency to have the borrower’s credit report and score updated based on the new information.

A rapid rescore is not a method to dispute negative information. It’s a way to quickly improve your credit history and raise your credit score. It can get items removed quickly from your credit report under the following circumstances:

• If you discover correctable errors on your credit report and can readily prove that they should be removed, and/or

• If you can significantly reduce your credit card balances or pay them off in full.

Paying off your credit card balances increases your available credit and decreases your credit utilization ratio. This is one of the biggest components of your credit score. Reducing your ratio positively affects your credit. Rapid rescoring can expedite the posting of these payments before your credit card provides its monthly update to the credit bureaus. Getting a new credit card and not using it can also increase your credit utilization rate.

To get a rapid rescore, you must ask a lender to apply for it on your behalf. You can’t initiate the process yourself. A lender may recommend rapid rescoring if your current credit score is a few points below the score necessary to get a lower interest rate and other desirable loan terms.

How Rapid Rescoring Works

When you apply for a large loan like a mortgage you’ll want to put your best foot forward and have the highest credit score possible. Since your credit score is computed using the information in your credit history, adding new, positive information to that history can boost your score. This can be done through rapid rescoring. When it comes to your credit score, a few points can mean the difference between a loan approval or denial or better interest rate. 

What new, positive information can you add? If you have enough cash on hand, you can pay off or pay down a credit card. This lowers your credit utilization rate, which increases your credit score. You may also be able to correct simple errors on your report, which can also boost your score.

If your lender doesn’t offer rapid rescoring, you can find another mortgage lender that does or wait for an updated credit report under the usual time frame. 

Credit Scores and Credit Reports

When people talk about your credit, they are discussing your credit history, which describes how you use borrowed money. Your credit history is shown on your credit reports, which list your past and current loans and credit cards. One of the biggest components of your credit history is whether you pay your bills on time. 

A credit report is a summary of your credit history. You can get a free copy of your credit report each year from each of the three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You can get your free credit report for all three credit bureaus from AnnualCreditReport.com.

A credit report lists:

• Personal information like your name, address, and Social Security number

• Credit card and loan account information

• The amount of money owed for each account

• Credit limits

• The timeliness of payments

A credit score is a number that rates your credit history. The higher your score, the better your credit. Many factors are used to calculate a credit score. Each factor affects credit scoring by a predefined percentage. These factors include: 

• Payment history 

• Amounts owed

• Length of credit history

• New credit

• Credit mix (types of credit)

Rapid rescoring can help quickly boost your credit score by a few points. But if you want to repair your credit and increase your credit score substantially, you’ll need to work at it. One of the simplest ways to make the biggest impact is by making all your payments on time. You can also make a big impact by decreasing your credit utilization ratio. You can do this by paying down your existing credit card debt or by requesting higher credit limits but not using them. 

It’s also important to review your credit report regularly and dispute errors. If you’re rebuilding your credit, you may have a difficult time getting a traditional credit card. In this case, consider getting a secured card or credit builder loan.

You can get free advice on how to improve your credit score from a credit counselor at an accredited nonprofit credit counseling agency. Credit counseling can help you create a personalized plan to improve your credit history. These are significant improvements to your credit unlike the quick fix improvement accomplished by a rapid rescore.

How Much Does Rapid Rescoring Cost?

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), lenders are not permitted to charge borrowers any fees for disputing errors in a credit report. So your lender will pay the fee for a rapid rescore. Credit reporting agencies charge $20-$100 for this service. Each account on each credit report is subject to this fee. So, even if there’s just one item to update, it can cost $60-$300 to get a rapid rescore from each of the three credit bureaus. While your lender is responsible for paying this fee, you pay for the lender’s capabilities with the loan’s interest rate and closing costs.

How Long Does a Rapid Rescore Take? 

Your credit reports are updated when lenders provide new information to at least one of the three major credit reporting agencies. This usually occurs once a month or at least every 45 days. A rapid rescore speeds up this process. It takes about a week to submit the information and get the updated report.

Limitations of Rapid Rescoring

Rapid rescoring and credit repair can both boost your credit score, but they are very different methods. Using other repair tools in tandem with a rapid rescore may have the best possible effect on your credit score. Rapid rescoring cannot fix the negative effects of late payments, bankruptcy, collections accounts, and charge-offs. The benefits of rapid rescoring are limited since it only leads to small increases in your credit score.

Although rapid rescoring is usually an efficient approach, it isn’t perfect. It may not produce the results that you or your lender expect. A rapid rescore may even cause your credit score to drop.

If you are planning on borrowing money to buy a home or purchase another significant item, you should contact all your potential lenders to discuss credit repair options before proceeding with a loan application. Shop around with different lenders to understand their loan approval requirements. This will also help you learn about other helpful services. 

Let’s Summarize...

Rapid rescoring is a tool that allows you to quickly boost your credit score by a few points in a short time. It is not a way to dispute negative information. This process may be very useful when you need to boost your credit most, like when applying for a mortgage loan. As a borrower, you cannot initiate a rapid rescoring of your credit but you can ask your lender to do it on your behalf. Rapid rescoring is only a quick fix. It is not a substitute for more conventional ways of improving your credit that have longer-lasting effects.

Before meeting with a lender, consult a credit counselor or an attorney to determine the best ways to increase your credit score. Also, shop around among lenders to see who can help you with rapid rescoring. Rapid rescoring can add needed points to your credit score, rapidly.