Article Advise

submitted: Aug 24th 2008 | by: RichardLakin | Total views: 1 | Word Count: 1045 | |

When there are problems on your credit report, you absolutely must take every possible measure to remove them. Your credit score is extremely important and it could be negatively impacted by having these things on your report. Though it is not difficult to fix credit reports, it is tedious and requires you to go through many steps in order to complete the process. Here are some steps to help you fix free credit reports.

Request a Copy of Your Credit Report Information

Before you can do anything else, you have to have a copy of your credit report. Though many people like to take advantage of the free credit reports that are available to consumers these days, it is best to purchase your report so that you have all of your information, as well as your FICO score.

Without that, you don't have the entire picture f how your credit is being impacted by some of the mistakes. After you get your credit report, you can figure out why that debt collector is calling you or what you need to do to clear credit information.

Take a close look at your credit report

Once you buy your credit report from one of the credit reporting agencies, look through it to identify any items you might want to dispute. To make sure everything is accurate, inspect the report word by word. Typically there will be a couple of errors, simply because there is so much information present.

More times than not, these things can be taken care of rather easily. In particular, you need to look out for things that can be very damaging, like late payments or missed payments. This will help you fix credit score mistakes and give you an idea of whether you need to do something more drastic, like filing an identity theft report.

Determine the Damage Impact on the Report

After breaking down the damaging items on your credit report you will need to rank them to figure out how damaging the items are. A simple late payment will not be as damaging to your credit score as filing for bankruptcy. Any debt management program will tell you that the first step you want to take is to make sure that, no matter what, any major problems you had stay off of your credit reports. Make sure that you look at your credit reports from every agency because you might have to write letters to each of them while you are doing your credit check.

It is important to note that late payments, missed payments, and credit inquiries generally have less impact on your credit report than bankruptcies, foreclosures, repossessions, and loan defaults. Since each credit agency uses distinct scoring methods to compute a score, it is best to contact each one of them. If you want a quick credit repair you must start off by getting all of the right information.

Disputes and Corrections

When it comes time to actually dispute the things on your credit report, you have to make sure all of your bases are covered. As a general rule, it is best to dispute the accuracy of something on the report completely. You can always go back and dispute things within the listing at a later time, but on your first go around, you need to dispute the fact that those things are even there. If you have a three bureau credit report, then you will not be able to see what each of the agencies has on you, so it is always best to have all three credit reports at your disposal.

Credit counseling agencies will advise you to send your letters disputing items on your credit report via certified mail so you can confirm delivery. Also, for every try you make, you will require proper documentation. When you repair errors on your credit report, you need proof to back you up. Don't leave it to fate.

The Waiting Game

It becomes a waiting game for you once you have done all these things to combat your credit errors. You must wait patiently for the credit bureaus to reach a conclusion. Many people like to use this interval to contact a credit repair clinic and begin a debt management plan. Credit agencies are allowed 30 days to investigate problems you report and to reach a decision.

They are required to notify you in writing once a decision has been reached. If they do remove items from your credit report, they will not be able to add those items back later without a lot of effort and evidence.

Also, it is within your right to have your new and improved credit report sent to those who requested a version of your old report. This is an example of how you can increase your credit rating score.

Assess and Repeat

When you receive a new credit report you should immediately compare it with the old one; evaluation and repetition is the key to success. This will allow to see the fruits of your efforts. If the result is what you wanted it to be, then you are done. If this doesn't happen, look over everything and start over again. Because there can be a lot of different reasons you can dispute something on your credit report, you might want to mention another one if the first reason did not work.

For example, you may have tried to say that the item wasn't yours, and that didn't work. So now try saying that there is an inconsistency with the date listed on the report, and the actual date of the payment. You can get help with this through credit report monitoring.

Re-inserted Listings

Just when you think you have collectors off of your back and your consumer statement is fixed, agencies might put the information back on your credit report. This is legal if they have proper reason to do so, but they have to notify you that the information is being put back onto your credit report.

Thanks to the ovation law and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, any agency that does not notify you that they put information back into your credit report will have to pay a $1,000 fine. This is great because you will be making some money from the fine that is paid to you if they happen to make a mistake.

About the Author

Fixing credit accounts by knowing all the details and information on your credit report can be quite easy. Learn how to repair credit accounts without the need of seeking help from a financial expert.

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