Worried about timeshare credit damage? Find out how to fix it!
Timeshare credit damage is a common problem. Unfortunately, timeshare ownership can damage your credit score in many ways. But there’s hope! Consumers are protected by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). And it is possible to repair timeshare credit damage.
What’s a Credit Score?
A credit score is a number generated by a credit reporting bureau that reflects how likely you are to repay debt. The credit bureaus take information on your debt, payment history, and other factors and use them to generate a number between 300 and 850. And then creditors use your score to decide if you’re a good risk. The higher your score, the more likely you are to pay your debts. And therefore, the easier it will be for you to get credit.
The three major reporting bureaus, Experian, Transunion and Equifax, each use a variety of factors to determine your score. They consider things like payment history, how much debt you have, how much credit you have available, how many inquiries have been made into your credit, the types of loans you have, and how long you’ve had each loan.
How Can Timeshares Hurt My Credit Score?
Timeshare ownership can hurt your credit in a few different ways. First, if you finance your timeshare, then your loan and the amount will be factored into your credit score. And since it will be a new account, that affects the age of your credit. However, the impact of those factors will be small and will diminish over time. Plus payments that are reported and made on time will eventually improve your score. The real damage occurs if you have late payments or don’t pay at all. Late and missed payments will impact your credit score.
Just like a missed or late payment damages your score, late or missed maintenance fees and special assessments can also bring your score down. And most timeshare companies don’t report on-time payments, so you won’t see any benefit to making payments on time.
The worst timeshare credit damage occurs if you default on your timeshare as a result of missed loan payments or unpaid fees. Foreclosure will have a significant impact and stay on your credit report for 7 years.
In addition to the damage done by late and missed payments, timeshares can also damage your credit through improper reporting. And unfortunately, this is not uncommon.
Are There Any Consumer Protections?
Luckily, the Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA) protects consumers like you. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the FCRA “Promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies.” Here are some of the ways the FCRA protects you:
- If anyone uses information in your credit report against you, they have to tell you about it.
- You have the right to know what’s in your file. So, this means you can check your report and see what’s in it. You get a free disclosure once a year and if anyone uses your report against you.
- You have the right to dispute inaccuracies and incorrect information. This is very important if your timeshare company has improperly reported damaging information.
- Reporting agencies must update or correct inaccurate information.
- Reporting agencies can’t use old negative information against you.
How Can I Fix Timeshare Credit Damage?
Among other things, a low credit score makes it hard to secure credit and can interfere with your ability to rent an apartment. So, it’s in your best interest to keep your score as high as possible. Here’s how:
- If the damage to your score is the result of non-payment or foreclosure that happened in the past, click here for ways to improve your score over time.
- If the damage is the result of inaccurate information, you can dispute items on your credit report. Click here for help on the dispute process.
- If you are having ongoing problems with a current timeshare, we can help. It may be time to consider canceling your timeshare contract. And we help people like you get out of their unwanted timeshares every day. We can even help you with credit issues resulting from timeshare ownership. So contact us today for a free, no-risk consultation to see what we can do for you.
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