One of the biggest factors affecting consumer’s ability to obtain credit is their credit score. That’s not shocking. What is interesting is that many consumers have no idea how good or bad their credit score is, and many are shocked to learn that they have been turned down for credit for the new loan or credit card they applied for. That hurts even more so – and it cuts into your credit score even farther.

New Laws for Those Turned Down for Credit

New laws going into place, though, will soon make it easier to know what your score is if you are turned down for credit. Keep in mind that the law gives consumers the right to a copy of his or her credit report free of charge each year, from each of the three many credit agencies. This report provides information about what is on your report, but it does not, in any way, hint at what your actual numerical score is.

Credit Repair Tutorial

The new law will require lenders to provide individuals who apply for a loan or credit card and fail to get it with information. This includes:

• What your credit score is
• Why the lender did not agree to the loan
• Why the lender offered a low with less than the best features/interest rates if you did get the loan

This means that consumers will now have the ability to know what factors are affecting them really. Have you applied for too many loans in the last few months? Perhaps you have too much debt compared to the amount of available credit? On the other hand, it may be that you do not have a lot of credit card experience. The good news is that you will now know what it is that is holding you back so that you can apply for loans with better terms going forward.

The new law goes into effect July 21, and will be put into place by the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve. A free copy of your credit score will be sent to you whenever a lender denies you for a card. There are some exemptions. Only lenders that use credit scores to make decisions must provide this.

Told No? What to Do

If you receive a denial for a credit card, and you learn that your credit score is the reason why, you can do something about it.

• Get into a secured credit card that reports to the credit bureaus. The Capital One Secured MasterCard, for example, allows you to build up your credit and requires a security deposit to establish your loan. By reporting to the agencies, you can work to build your score over time.
• The Platinum Zero Secured Visa Credit Card from Applied Bank charges you no intro rates and keeps your costs as low as possible. It also reports to the credit bureaus, which means you build your score over time.
• The Orchard Bank Visa Card is another great option not requiring a security deposit. You can use this even if you have a low score to rebuild your score.

The good news is that you will now know what your credit score is if you are denied. The bad news is you now have no excuse not to work to strengthen your score with good credit usage.