Did you know that your credit report could contain errors or wrong information that can cost you dearly? Last report estimated that at least 75% of all credit reports did contain inaccuracies and mistakes that the consumer was not aware of, which in turn resulted in denied credit, home loans, higher interest rates and the like.
Therefore it is imperative that you check your credit report often. Thankfully the Fair Credit Reporting Act, enacted back in 1970 gives the consumer the right to dispute all errors and invalid information on our credit reports.
With identity theft on the rise it becomes essential to check your report regularly. One error can mean you may be facing higher interest rates for anything you need to purchase in your future.
If you are one of the millions of consumers facing bad credit now, you can repair your credit. Simply by disputing the mistakes on your report by filing it in writing is a good start.
The three major credit reporting agencies in the US are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. All three agencies do not share information, so each report can be different. Make sure to get a copy of your report from each of them.
Once you issue your dispute it can take up to 30 days to consider your issues and another 5 days for them to respond back to you. If they cannot resolve the dispute or deny your information is inaccurate, then it must be removed. Don’t be surprised if need to write more than one correspondence of dispute to resolve the issues and get the favorable outcome you were aiming for.
Credit repair does take time but you should consider it important and valuable time well worth the work.
There are some things to know to help improve your score. A maxed-out credit card can lower your score as much as 150 points! You can increase your score by paying down the balance of your debts to below 20% of your accessible credit. Once you are able to get it under 40% your score will shoot up.
Also you can make a substantial difference in your score by checking your report often to see if there are inaccuracies from collection agencies that may need to be removed immediately. Sometimes a balance you have settled may not have been reported and therefore still on your report. If they are invalid and disputed, once removed, your score will shoot up again.
You can also negotiate with collection agencies that will be more than happy to collect just some of the debt you owe. This “lump sum payment” to them will reciprocate a deletion of the debt in your report. It’s a win-win situation and an agreement that is commonly made daily.
Getting your creditor to boost your limits will bring down your debt to credit ratio. Although this may not be practical in today’s present economic situation but it’s worth asking about.
Get rid of all your department store credit cards that have higher interest rates. Have a credit card cutting party– you’ll feel much better and than can look forward to a better financial future.
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