Coronavirus and Your Credit Score

What can you do to minimize the impact of Coronavirus on your credit standing?

• Talk to your lenders and creditors and see if any assistance is available.

• Pay what you can. To avoid having late payments show up on your credit reports, try to make at least the minimum payment on accounts, or pay any amount you and the lender or creditor agree upon.

• Stay up-to-date on your credit reports. You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com.

• Consider adding a consumer statement to your credit reports.You can add a brief 100-word to your credit reports to explain your situation. 
  An example of a consumer statement: “Be advised that the negative accounts on my credit report are related to the Coronavirus. I intend to make these up as soon as I can.”