It is a known fact that Credit reports are mostly used by loan companies to help them determine whether or not you are a good risk - if you are likely to repay the loan.However there are some very important process you can take to raise your rating, mostly things you are not supposed to do or rather avoid.

Don't compulsively check your score, or respond to all those"pre-approved" credit card offers you get in the mail and even online. It's easy to think - "What can it hurt to apply?They say I'm already approved."Well, it can and DOES hurt. Each time one of the Credit Bureaus gets an inquiry, your score goes down a few points.

Don't jump from card to card.If you"transfer your balance" - a scheme that doesn't hurt you and gets you 0% interest on your balance for a period of time,sometimes as long as a year-don't close the old account.Your credit history looks better to the Credit Agencies if you have long-standing,established accounts.This looks good even if many of your accounts are never used anymore.Get married! If you examine two people with very similar credit histories,the one who is married will have a markedly higher credit score than the single person. Strange, but true!This you really can't do anything about - be older. Age is another personal characteristic that the credit reporting agencies factor into their ratings.Older is better. Even though you cannot magically increase your age (and who'd really want to do this,anyway?)it is nice to know that as time goes by, your credit score automatically improves.Don't move a lot.If you physically reside at the same address for a long time it is better for your credit history than if you move frequently.

Buy a home! Owning is viewed as WAY better than renting.This is not a difficult or particularly expensive thing to do. This is probably the most important action you can take:pay your bills on time!! If your credit history has even a few "late pays" (or worse yet - a few "no pays") your credit report scores will plummet.Check your credit report for credit cards that are listed under your name that may be jointly held by others. For instance,former spouses and business partners.Their bad credit influences your credit. Get your name off of those things. Close other 'dead' credit accounts that you don't use.

Dispute things on the credit report that are 'wrong'.You can generally get one 'bad thing' off of each credit report every year.Keep at it consistently if you used to be a 'bad person',at least as far as the credit card companies are concerned.'Paying off' loans increases your score.Oddly enough,occasionally refinancing and trading in cars with loans on them 'pays-off'loans too.If you do refinance,do it for no points and a lower rate.Having high available debt and low indebtedness helps a lot.In other words,if you have lots of available credit and little or manageable debt,that looks better than being in hock up to your eyeballs or just having no established credit at all.