I have always paid my credit card bill on time.?
If your score is 680, it is highly likely that there is one or more derogatory entries on your credit report. Credit inquiries make up a very small portion of your FICO score. You should start by finding out exactly what is on your credit report. There are plenty of reliable sources where you can get your report at no costand be aware that a soft inquiry (one the consumer does for their own report) does not affect your score at all. Some of these sites offer a free credit score as well, but keep in mind that they may not offer the widely-used FICO score. Credit Karma, for example, uses the Vantage scoring model. It is useful for keeping track of your credit situation, but it will be different from the score most lenders use for credit decisions. If there is a correctly reported late payment, it will have less impact on your score as time goes by. If it is incorrect, you can dispute it online with the three bureaus. For credit scoring purposes, having four or five open trade lines is helpful. Credit cards work well for this purpose. Use them for items youd normally buy and pay them off in full each month to avoid incurring any interest. I hope this is helpful.