Repairing your credit can be time consuming and frustrating, unless you know how to go about doing it properly. Errors on your credit report can negatively influence credit decisions of a potential lender. Hence, it becomes essential to rectify these errors quickly in order to ensure your good name and credit worthiness.
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"Who goes a-borrowing goeth a-sorrowing."
- Thomas Tusser |
However, if you do have errors on your credit report, you must understand right from the beginning that it will take some time to dispute the information and eventually get the report corrected. Repairing your credit is a patient man’s game. The one’s who are successful know that there are certain steps you need to follow for repairing your credit. The first thing to take into consideration is the amount of debt you owe and the number of accounts you have open. Make a complete list of your outstanding debts and write down the exact balance that you owe on each. It is important to get all the debts accounted for. This process will also be very helpful in your budgeting process. The next step in repairing your credit is to obtain your free credit report from each one of the three main national credit bureaus. Find out precisely what the three bureaus-Equifax, TransUnion and Experian have to say about you. It is likely that the three reports will be slightly different from each other. Typically, lenders do not report to all three agencies, they just report to the bureau to which they subscribe. This is the reason that information may vary somewhat from one bureau to the next. If you have been denied employment, a loan or insurance then you are entitled to get a free copy of the credit report from the bureau. The organization to which you had applied should provide you the address, name and phone number of the credit bureau. You can request for a free copy of your credit report within 60 days after you get the denial notice. Repairing your credit requires a careful examination of your report. Almost every consumer has some errors on his or her credit report from one of the major credit agencies. Your overall credit score is generated by the combination of the information on the three major bureaus. This information simply reflects what’s been reported to them, they never make any attempt to verify the information. This is up to you. Make sure that there are no errors or any inaccurate information on your report. If you do spot inaccurate information then create a list of items you would like to dispute. If there are any inaccuracies then you need to correct them immediately. Charged off accounts and late payments remain on credit reports for seven years and bankruptcies for 10 years. Lenders take into consideration the pattern of payment rather than rare occurrences. Following the “Double-D” strategy is the next step in the process of repairing your credit. A bad credit report can cost you money. You have two options for disputing credit report information; either write a letter to the bureau or complete the dispute form that you get with the report. State all the mistakes and the reason why you think it is wrong. Send a copy of your credit report after encircling the errors to the bureau along with every possible document supporting your claim. Keep a copy of all the documents or letters you are sending to the bureau. The bureau will be investigating the dispute within 30 days of receiving your letter. If a creditor identifies an item as inaccurate then it is removed. In some cases you might have to get in contact with the creditor for resolving errors. If any changes are made by the bureau in your credit file then a copy will be sent to you along with an updated free copy of your credit report.
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"Rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt."
- Benjamin Franklin |
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Debt is NOT your friend. It's not a wonderful "tool" for building wealth. That's a myth.
