Credit Control: Tips For Managing Your Money

What You Should Know About A Rapid Rescore

24 November 2014

Levi Bradley

Rapid rescoring is a way to get your credit score updated quickly -- usually within 2 to 3 business days. The process may seem like an ideal fix if you are applying for a mortgage loan and find a last-minute error on your credit report. When faced with the possibility of delays that could see your dream house slip away, you may not have the time to wait the 30 days or more to correct or dispute an error on your own.

How It Works

While not all lenders use rapid rescoring to qualify you for a loan, many do. It's not the same thing as credit repair, but it can increase your credit score.

Rescoring isn't really about "changing" your credit score. The process involves correcting information on your credit report that isn't up to date. Updating inaccurate information is what changes your score -- upward or downward.

You won't know for sure what effect rapid rescoring will have on your credit score, but it could raise your score by just enough points to give that magic number the added boost it needs. A higher score may qualify you for a loan or get you a better loan deal. Even a single point difference in the interest rate you have to pay can save you thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the loan.

Impact of Other Information in Your Report

How much your score might increase -- if at all -- depends on the nature of the error and the status of your credit beforehand. A rapid rescore may not help much if your credit report is filled with negative items you can't dispute. Rescoring merely corrects inaccurate information. It doesn't remove legitimate negative items from your credit file.

If another person's account history appears on your credit report that raises your credit score higher than it should be, you still need to report the error. Your credit report needs to be an accurate reflection of how you manage money.

A rapid rescore may also help if you pay down or pay off a large credit card bill. While even your lender can't predict how many points your credit score may increase if you pay off a bill, it's bound to help.

But an account balance doesn't have to hit $0 to give your credit score a lift. Getting your credit utilization ratio below 10 percent is what does the trick. Credit scorers like to see low debt and lots of available credit.

At the Lender's Cost

Lenders sometimes use rapid rescoring to expedite the processing of a loan application that needs a credit score to be just a few points higher.

Rapid rescoring is a service the credit bureaus offer to lenders and mortgage brokers. It's not a service you can request yourself.

Each credit bureau charges lenders and mortgage brokers a fee for each account it rescores on a consumer's credit report. Although correcting or disputing errors on your credit report is free if you do it yourself, it takes longer than rapid rescoring.

A rapid rescore shouldn't cost you money as long as it's related to correcting or disputing inaccurate information on your credit report. Your lender or mortgage broker is responsible for paying the fees and shouldn't be passing on the cost to you, although some do. To learn more, contact a company like Nationwide Credit Repairs with any questions or concerns.

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