Do you remember building snowballs in the backyard as a kid?

Late payments can be damaging to your credit, especially if you stop paying your loans for an extended period of time. We've already gone over the repercussions of delinquency and defaulting, but today, we're going to take a look at another method of repairing your credit report.

This is the time of the year when collection agencies start to send letters and contacting you non stop to pay off your unpaid debt. So please keep in mind:

Hard inquiries (also known as "hard pulls") generally occur when a financial institution, such as a lender or credit card issuer, checks your credit when making a lending decision. They commonly take place when you apply for a mortgage, loan or credit card, and you typically have to authorize them.

Questions you do NOT have to answer: