You can easily improve your credit worthiness by taking a few simple steps that make use of low or no-cost help available to everyone. Over time, following basic credit repair strategies, plus sticking with a personal debt repayment plan, are the only legal ways to improve your credit rating.
Legally, you can't remove negative information that is correct and timely from a credit report - even if you've heard otherwise. However, you can legally dispute information you think is inaccurate or incomplete. credit repair The process is simple, and best of all, you can do it on your own - for free.
Your Rights
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, if you have been denied credit within the last 60 days you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report. The company that denied your credit, insurance, or employment application due to information supplied by a credit bureau must supply you the name and contact information of that credit bureau.
Your Responsibility
Contact the credit bureau and ask for a dispute form if you identify false, outdated, or incomplete information on your credit report. Submit the details of your dispute in writing, along with any documentation to back up your claims.
It is up to you to clearly identify each disputed item in your report and the reasons why, then request the reinvestigation. If the reinvestigation reveals an error in your favor, ask for the corrections to be made and an updated copy of your credit report be sent to anyone who requested it within the last six months. In addition, job applicants can have corrected reports sent out to potential employers who received a report within the last two years as part of an employment application.
Your Alternatives
If the reinvestigation is not resolved in your favor, you still have the right to have your version of the dispute attached to your file and included in future reports. Again, this costs you nothing and is relatively easy to achieve on your own.
Valid information - either positive or negative - can stay on your credit report for seven years or more in some cases. But you have the legal right to have inaccurate information removed from your file credit repair You can also mitigate the damage from accurate negative information by having your version of the dispute added to your file.
Credit bureaus do not always do a great job at maintaining up-to-date and accurate information. They often will not recognize when there is an issue on their own. It is your obligation and right to review your credit report at least once a year, and more often if you have been turned down for credit, for potential errors and omissions. Making this a habit can help you avoid a negative outcome the next time you look for credit while building your credit score to the levels you need to accomplish your financial goals.
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Thursday, July 1, 2010
Credit Repair: Do Yourself a Favor - Fix Your Own Credit Report
You can save money and avoid potential scams by developing your own personal debt repayment plan to improve your credit report and credit score. Making use of legitimate low cost or no-cost resources to do your own credit repair can help you achieve better results on your credit report for much less money.
The Promise:
Individuals with poor credit histories are bombarded daily with promises of quick credit report fixes to achieve a higher credit rating so they can get the insurance, car loan, mortgage, or possibly even the job they so desperately want. credit repair The fact is, most companies can't deliver on these promises and simply vanish with your money, leaving you with nothing to show for it - or sometimes worse.
Warning Signs An Offer May Be Too Good To Be True:
* You are not advised of your legal rights and what you could do for yourself
* Payment is required before services are rendered or are not clearly defined
* Promises are made to eliminate or reduce all your debts
* You are advised to contest all information in your credit report just to create a delay
* Suspicious actions, such as creating a new credit identity by requesting an Employer ID Number to replace your social security number, are taken on your behalf
* Your contact with creditors is limited and all communications must be routed through the company, not you
* You are pressured to act on the offer right away without having time to weigh your options
* Not all promises are in writing with expectations of both parties clearly defined
* No effort is put toward developing a plan to avoid problems in the future
You are responsible for any and all actions taken on your behalf by a credit repair service. It is a federal crime to apply for credit or a loan using false information and you can be prosecuted for it. An unscrupulous credit repair company could actually leave you a lot worse off than when you started. It's just not worth it to take the chance, especially when there are easy, legal steps you can take on your own. Despite the promises, there is no quick fix!
The Bottom Line:
Unfortunately, the quality of some of these organizations is suspect and they make promises they can't possibly keep. For instance, there simply is no way to legally remove accurate and timely information from a credit report. Anyone that suggests otherwise is just preying on your lack of knowledge to get your business. credit repair You can however choose to dispute items on your credit report you deem inaccurate or incomplete by requesting a reinvestigation of the information in your file.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act you can easily accomplish on your own what a credit repair service can do for you - for free. First of all, if you have been denied credit within the last 30 days, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from all three credit reporting agencies. Review of your credit report will show you what information can be seen by creditors and you can check it for accuracy and completeness.
If you find any inaccuracies, you have a right to request that information be reviewed through the creditor's reinvestigation process. This is a formal process so it is necessary to submit your challenge in writing and supply documentation to back up your claims. credit repair But if you have a legitimate dispute, your claim will be quickly reviewed and resolved. The credit reporting agencies are required by law to make timely changes and update files when inaccuracies are brought to their attention.
While these steps won't guarantee you a higher credit score, staying on top of the information on your credit report can lead to incremental improvements over time. So do yourself a favor. Roll up your sleeves and get busy. With a little legwork and elbow grease you can clean up your own credit report and build your credit score to the levels you need to achieve your financial goals.
Web Designer PSD to Wordpress
The Promise:
Individuals with poor credit histories are bombarded daily with promises of quick credit report fixes to achieve a higher credit rating so they can get the insurance, car loan, mortgage, or possibly even the job they so desperately want. credit repair The fact is, most companies can't deliver on these promises and simply vanish with your money, leaving you with nothing to show for it - or sometimes worse.
Warning Signs An Offer May Be Too Good To Be True:
* You are not advised of your legal rights and what you could do for yourself
* Payment is required before services are rendered or are not clearly defined
* Promises are made to eliminate or reduce all your debts
* You are advised to contest all information in your credit report just to create a delay
* Suspicious actions, such as creating a new credit identity by requesting an Employer ID Number to replace your social security number, are taken on your behalf
* Your contact with creditors is limited and all communications must be routed through the company, not you
* You are pressured to act on the offer right away without having time to weigh your options
* Not all promises are in writing with expectations of both parties clearly defined
* No effort is put toward developing a plan to avoid problems in the future
You are responsible for any and all actions taken on your behalf by a credit repair service. It is a federal crime to apply for credit or a loan using false information and you can be prosecuted for it. An unscrupulous credit repair company could actually leave you a lot worse off than when you started. It's just not worth it to take the chance, especially when there are easy, legal steps you can take on your own. Despite the promises, there is no quick fix!
The Bottom Line:
Unfortunately, the quality of some of these organizations is suspect and they make promises they can't possibly keep. For instance, there simply is no way to legally remove accurate and timely information from a credit report. Anyone that suggests otherwise is just preying on your lack of knowledge to get your business. credit repair You can however choose to dispute items on your credit report you deem inaccurate or incomplete by requesting a reinvestigation of the information in your file.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act you can easily accomplish on your own what a credit repair service can do for you - for free. First of all, if you have been denied credit within the last 30 days, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from all three credit reporting agencies. Review of your credit report will show you what information can be seen by creditors and you can check it for accuracy and completeness.
If you find any inaccuracies, you have a right to request that information be reviewed through the creditor's reinvestigation process. This is a formal process so it is necessary to submit your challenge in writing and supply documentation to back up your claims. credit repair But if you have a legitimate dispute, your claim will be quickly reviewed and resolved. The credit reporting agencies are required by law to make timely changes and update files when inaccuracies are brought to their attention.
While these steps won't guarantee you a higher credit score, staying on top of the information on your credit report can lead to incremental improvements over time. So do yourself a favor. Roll up your sleeves and get busy. With a little legwork and elbow grease you can clean up your own credit report and build your credit score to the levels you need to achieve your financial goals.
Web Designer PSD to Wordpress
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