PHOENIX, AZ — Raising your credit score usually takes paying off debt and paying on time for months sometimes years.
But what if you could boost that number in just hours?
Credit bureau company Experian says it's allowing consumers to use phone and utility payment histories to improve their credit through a program called Experian Boost.
According the company many with FICO scores below 680 saw a bump and up to 15 percent of consumers could move into Fair or Good credit score range.
The program is free but there's a catch.
You must give Experian access to your bank account to find qualifying payments. Once you verify information then its added to your credit file.
But you're giving even more information to a company that had a 15 million customer data breach a few years ago.
And any credit score increase would not apply to your Equifax or Transunion reports.
Still interested? Check the fine print so you know what they're doing with your information.
And remember, to raise scores, pay bills on time, keep credit limits high and balances low.
