Stephen Chua asked:




Each of the three major credit bureaus receive credit data from thousands of data providers each day. Each month, the number of updates to their database can run into the billions. Thus it is nearly impossible to avoid incorrect or incomplete information.

Each bureaus has their own procedure for consumers to dispute their credit report. However, in general, it can be broken down into six steps

Step 1 – Get Your Credit Report

You order your credit report from all of the credit bureaus. Review them and list down the incorrect or incomplete information.

Step 2 – Submit A Dispute Request

You submit your dispute request via email, telephone or using the online form provided by the credit bureaus.

Step 3 – Credit Bureaus Investigate

Upon receiving your request, the credit bureau will investigate your dispute by contacting the creditors involved.

Step 4 – Creditors Investigate and Respond To Credit Bureaus

The creditors will investigate to see if the dispute is valid. They will then respond to the bureaus with the results their investigation.

Step 5 – Credit Bureaus Update Their File

If the creditors confirm that disputes are valid, the credit bureaus will update their database with the correct information.

Step 6 – Credit Bureaus Notify You

Within 30 to 45 days, depending on how complex your dispute is, you will receive a notification about the result of your dispute. IF there are changes to your credit report, an updated copy will be send to you at no extra charge.

If you are disputing the records in your free annual credit report, the turnaround time will be 45 days.

For faster result, you can also contact the creditors directly to dispute the records in your credit reports. In this case, you can skip step 2 and 3. However, if you have no experience or are not confident in dealing with creditors directly, it is better to leave the job to the bureaus.

Once you receive the updated credit reports from the bureaus, make sure you examine them carefully to make sure the incorrect information has been removed. In the event the information you dispute has been re verify as correct, you can request the bureaus to show the record as disputed. If you want, you can also add a statement to explain the dispute.

As the credit reports contain vital information that affects your financial health, you should not hesitate to dispute any records that you know to be incorrect, especially if you have the evidence to prove your claim. Your credit score will likely get a significant boost once you are done fixing those inaccuracies in your credit reports.

Karl

Tim Gorman asked:




The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACT) give all individuals the opportunity to receive a free credit report. Generally, you can request a free credit report once per year. These reports are requested from the three major credit bureaus who report on all activity regarding credit. The intentions of the Acts are to allow the consumer to check the accuracy as well as the privacy of his or her credit report. This is underlined by the fact that FCRA and FACT are enforced with regard to consumer reporting companies by the Federal Trade Commission which is the main consumer protection agency in United States.

A credit report contains data regarding the consumer’s personal contact information, bankruptcy, as well as his or her very detailed credit history details. It is regularly used to evaluate his or her credit worthiness by not only financial institutions offering credit but by employers and others. As such it is important to make sure that the consumer has a right to check the credit report in order to correct any errors or unfair information contained there. This also prevents anyone else from using your identity to commit fraud since such activity will become apparent when you check the report.

You can request the free annual copy of your credit report from the website set up by the three main credit bureaus, namely Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. All three have set up a toll free telephone number and a mailing address to meet the requests from consumers. Contacting the credit bureaus directly will not be fruitful since they will direct you to the website referred above. However you can request the free annual copy from each of the three bureaus separately at different times as long as you request only one copy for 12 months from each bureau.

Once you have filled the form on the website you will be able to see the credit report almost immediately. Using the toll free number or mailing address will get you the report within 15 days of request. However you should have the information needed to verify your identity if the credit bureau requests.

Other methods to get a free credit report

In addition to the entitlement mentioned above .You are entitled to obtain a free credit report if you are denied credit, insurance, or employment due to the contents of the credit report. However you should request the report within 60 days of notice of such denial. Unemployed individuals looking for work, those who are on welfare, and those who have been victims of frauds or identity theft, can also request a free copy of the credit report. It must also be remembered that residents of States of Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont, have access to annual credit reports free of charge for some time through State laws.

Keith

Conleth Onu asked:




Is bad credit ruining your life? Have you been denied credit because of negative information on your credit report? Do you want to learn how to make a good credit report instantly? If you answered yes to the above questions, you’re in the right place.

Having a bad credit record will make your life difficult in many situations. Nothing can slow you down faster financially than negative information contained in a credit bureau file. Sometimes, the information is true, other times it is deceiving or even totally wrong. What can you do if you believe that you have been turned down for credit because of inaccurate or outdated information?

There are some steps that you can take, to get rid of blemishes on your report. Your first step should be to get your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus. You can get a free copy of your report one time a year, and you can also obtain one at no charge if you have been denied credit within the past 60 days.

Once you have obtained your report, examine it carefully. Make sure that all information is being reported correctly. If you find any incorrect information in your report, you can dispute it with the credit bureau.

Send a letter to the credit bureau explaining your dispute. When filing a dispute, tell the credit bureau what information you believe is incorrect and the reason why. Include any documentation that would help support your claim.

By law the credit bureaus are required to delete negative items from credit reports whenever a particular item reaches a certain age. Also, inaccuarate or unverifiable information must be deleted from credit files.

If there are accounts on your report that need to be settled, you can negotiate with the creditors. Be sure to have the creditor sign and date the settlement proposal and return it to you, before you pay them.

Once you have finished eliminating negatives from credit report, and have a clean clear credit report, it’s time to add positive information on your report.

A secured credit card can help you build good credit. It looks and works like any other major credit card. Secured Visa and Mastercard are issued against your depositing cash in a financial institution. That deposit serves as a collateral for the credit card. If you maintain a good account, your excellent credit rating will be recorded on your report.

Another effective way to add positive credit information to your credit file is to take out a small installment loan from a bank and pay it back promptly.

You can also build good credit by getting Department Store and Gas Company credit cards. By having your very own major credit card, you can qualify for instant credit at many department stores and gas stations.

Once you have established a good credit rating, you will be eligible for loans, credit cards, and other items of credit.

Marie

Conleth Onu asked:




It is often difficult for us when we have bad credit and not knowing where to start to get back on our feet again is even more frustrating.

If you have bad credit, you might want to check into a few resources that can help you find a solution to your credit problem. Life does not have to be difficult and all of us make mistakes.

Bad credit is an obstacle and if you want to run you are about to get yourself into a situation that you do not really need. There is always a solution to most problems. The problem most times is some of us do not have the means to find solutions to our problems.

In this article, I am going to make it quick and to the point, helping you repair your credit through the process.

So the first step is to collect copies of your credit report from the major credit bureaus. Credit bureaus compile and sell information about consumers and are a principal source of information about your credit history.

You are entitled to receive a free copy of your credit report if you have been denied credit within the past 60 days. If you have not been denied credit within the past 60 days, you can order your credit report by paying a fee.

Next, review your credit report watching closely for errors (items that do not belong to you). Dispute any errors on your reports immediately with the credit bureaus. Any errors or inaccurate information will be deleted.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, all negative information seven years old or more must be deleted. Bankruptcy stay on credit report for up to 10 years or longer.

Once you dispute the negative information, you will receive a copy of your report from the credit bureau, showing the items that were removed and the items that were verified as accurate. The dispute method of removing negative information from your credit file can improve your credit rating.

The Internet offers credit report information, guides, and kits, which can lead you in the right direction to repairing credit. You might want to surf the Net for resources that can help you find a way out of bad credit.

Debbie

Bill Smiths asked:




A good credit history is critically important for the consumer. A bad credit will prevent you from getting a business loan, owning a home, or even a job. Promises to “fix” your credit are always made by credit consolidation companies, but they are seldom true. Here are some of the important tips to avoid scams:

First things first. Negative information cannot be erased if the information is correct. Only inaccurate information can be corrected in your credit file. Credit file information remains on your record for seven good years from the time it is reported to the bureau. For bankruptcy, the information remains on your record for ten years. All the consolidated information about your credit bills you fell behind on, but are now paid, will remain on your report for the time period mentioned above.

Do not pay the credit repair company unless their promises are kept. Remember, the law is on your side. Federal law requires credit repair companies to give you a complete detailed explanation of your legal rights, a completely documented written contract, and above all, 3 days to cancel. This applies to all credit repair services including for-profit services, non-profit services, creditors and credit unions.

Be wary about emails you receive. When you hover your mouse over the link in the email, you will know for sure if it is a trusted website or a fraudelent one. If fraudelent, report it to your bank promptly.

You don’t need a counselor to correct your mistakes in the credit report. Take charge of it yourself. If you were recently denied credit, you can request a free credit report. Otherwise there is a small charge for it. Some states will allow you a free copy of your credit report once a year. It doesn’t cost you anything to dispute or question items in your credit report. Get online or follow instructions from your credit bureau. The three major credit bureaus are Equifax (800- 685-1111), Experian (800-682-7654) and Transunion (800-916-8800). In most cases you will need to contact all the three credit bureaus as the information they have about you may vary.

Remember that you can’t create a second credit file. Some of the fraudelent companies will offer to provide the consumers with a different social security number (tax identification number if ssn does not exist) in order to create a new credit file for the consumer. Such a practice is called as file segregation. File segregation is illegal and does not work.

Whereever possible, add explanation to your credit report to prove your point. If you have legitimate reasons for not paying certain bills on time (switching jobs, illness), or if you refused to pay because of a dispute, send the bureau a statement to be tagged with your credit report. Each lender who pulls your report will be aware why you fell behind on those bills.

Counseling might be a good option. Find a good non profit consumer credit counseling service in your neighbourhood. Get online or open your yellow pages to find one. Seek the guidance of friends and family members. Select a counselor, meet them in person to make sure they are right for you. Ask them on tips and advice on how to build a good credit history. If you are still lagging behind on your payments, credit consolidation firms will be able to set up a payment plan with your creditors. If money is an issue, select a non profit credit counseling service. They will offer their service for free or for a very low cost.

Clinton

Tony Banks asked:




You want to make sure that as a consumer with credit issues that you follow the specific steps needed to restore your credit. Observing these steps will ensure a boost in your score in no time.

The first thing you want to do is to get a credit report from each of the three major credit report bureaus (Equifax, Transunion and Experian). You are entitled to a free copy yearly from each of the major credit report bureaus. You can download those three reports instantly from annualcreditreport dot com.

Now that you have obtained the three credit reports from the three major credit bureaus, you are to review each of these reports carefully. There are some items you might find in one credit report which you might not find in the other so it is important that you review each of the reports carefully. You are to write out any negative items in the order of the most damaging on your credit report. You are to watch out for new negative items on your credit report. New negative items that are added have more effect on your credit score than the older ones. So, keep in mind to deal with each of the negative items as they appear on your credit report. You also want to watch out for items on your report that are not yours, errors made to your personal information and accounts which you have paid in full but still show a balance.

The next and important step is for you to send dispute letters to the bureau for each of the negative items you found on your report. The law allows you to give a reason for dispute and the most popular and effective reason is the account ‘is not mine’. With this dispute reason, if the account could not be verified by the creditor when the credit bureaus send over their investigation, the account will have to be deleted. Keep in mind that you can dispute about anything on your account. Due to bad record keeping by the creditors, most accounts might not be verifiable so most negative items on credit accounts end up deleted.

Do not dispute multiple negative items on a dispute letter. It will most likely be categorized as ‘frivolous dispute’. It is important that you deal with each of the negative item on your credit report one dispute letter a time. Send your dispute letters by registered mail and keep records of every dispute letter the credit bureau receives. With these records, you will be able to prove with specific dates when you sent your disputes letters and when the credit bureau receives your dispute letters.

Once your letters have been received by the credit bureau, they are obligated by the law to start investigating your cause for dispute. You should know the outcome of the investigation in thirty days. If your request is granted, you will receive an updated copy of your report showing that the corrections have been made. If the account is verified and your request is not granted, you will have to dispute your account with your original creditor.

Glenda

David Kamau asked:




Your credit history is a record you’ve established with the 3 major credit bureaus by either paying or not paying your bills on time, or not paying at all. This history is recorded by all of your creditors on your three credit reports.

The 3 major credit bureaus are Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. They keep this information on file for you, your creditors, new lenders and other interested parties.

Parties that may require your credit history that are not lenders or creditors per se are employers and, more recently (and frightening), doctors and hospitals.

Your credit reports will reflect your payment history on all of your credit accounts you’ve had for the past.

This includes your student loans, mortgages, retail store credit cards, auto loans, telephone, and utilities (cable, gas and electric); although typically utility companies do not report until you fall into delinquency.

Federal law requires that child support delinquencies get reported.

This information can be reported for up to 7 years, or 10 years for bankruptcies. However, there is no time limit if applying for a loan of more than $150,000 or a job with an annual income of more than $75,000.

But aside from your credit history, the 3 major credit bureaus also store personal information about you, such as past and present addresses, social security number, and employment history.

The 3 major credit bureaus are for-profit businesses. They make money by selling your information.

You may be asking; how do the Credit Bureaus know if I pay my bills on time or not?

Well, the credit bureaus do not know if and how you pay your creditors. It’s your creditors that supply your information to them: it is your creditors that report your payment history to the credit bureaus; good or bad, they run and tell.

Have you wondered how debt collectors are able to find you when you move? One of the ways that debt collectors are able to track you down to your new address is through the credit bureaus.

When you apply for new credit, your information including your address is entered into your credit file. This process is called “lender reporting” where your creditors will send, typically, all three credit reporting bureaus the current status of your accounts utilizing an electronic tape.

Since lenders do pay to make reports they often do not report to all 3 major credit bureaus. This is one reason why your credit report will often differ from bureau to bureau.

Once the credit reporting agencies receive this tape, it’s loaded into their system and then unloads into their databases, hence, creating an updated record of all your accounts, address, and payment history.

In the perfect world, all your accounts should be paid on time; however, many of us fall behind. Doesn’t matter whether you were hospitalized or near-dead, all your timely payments, late payments, or missed payments are reported.

Accounts in good standing are noted as “paid as agreed.” This means that the creditor is reporting your account as being paid according to the terms of agreement you signed.

If your account is past due then your status rating changes and causes your credit ratings drop.

All the 3 major credit bureaus also indicate on your report the name of the creditor, type of account, account number and delinquency status (whether 60, 90 or 120 days late).

The worst notation on your credit bureau report is one that shows that an account is “in collection”. But even more devastating are judgments against you, bankruptcies and tax liens.

Christian

Vincent Dail asked:




Your credit report contains information about where you work, live and how you pay your bills (On time or not). It also may show whether you’ve been sued, arrested or have filed for bankruptcy with in the last 10 years. Companies called consumer reporting agencies (cra) or credit bureaus compile and sell your credit report to businesses all over the world.

Many financial advisors suggest that you periodically review your credit report for inaccuracies or omissions. This could be especially important if you’re considering making a major purchase, such as buying a home. Checking in advance on the accuracy of information in your credit file could speed the credit-granting process, clean credit is a must.

Because businesses use this information to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, and other purposes allowed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), it’s important that the information in your report is complete and accurate.

Whenever you apply for any type of credit or financing, a credit report is pulled from at least one of the three major credit bureaus. You want a clean credit report to be pulled. While there are hundreds of smaller credit bureaus around the country, virtually every credit bureau is affiliated with either Experian, Trans Union, or Equifax.

Getting Your Clean Credit Report

If you’ve been denied credit, insurance, or employment because of information supplied by a credit reporting agency, the FCRA says the company you applied to must give you the agency`s name, address, and telephone number. If you contact the agency for a copy of your report within 60 days of receiving a denial notice, the report is free. In addition, you’re entitled to one free copy of your report a year.

If you simply want a copy of your report, call each credit bureau listed since more than one agency may have a file on you, some with different information.

The three major national credit bureaus are:

Equifax, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241; (800) 685-1111.

Experian (formerly TRW), P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013; (888) EXPERIAN (397-3742).

Trans Union, P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022; (800) 916-8800.

Correcting Errors For Clean Credit.

To protect all your rights under the law and to keep your credit clean contact both the CRA and the information provider.

First to get clean credit reports, tell the credit reporting agency in writing what information you believe is inaccurate. Include copies (please keep your originals) of documents that support your position. In addition to providing your complete name and address, your letter should clearly identify each item in your report you dispute, state the facts and explain why you dispute the information, and request deletion or correction. Always keep copies of your dispute letter.

They must reinvestigate the items in question, usually within 30 days, unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They also must forward all relevant data you provide about the dispute to the information provider. After the information provider receives notice of a dispute from the CRA, it must investigate, review all relevant information provided by the CRA, and report the results to the CRA. If the information provider finds the disputed information to be inaccurate, it must notify all nationwide CRAs so they can correct this information in your file. Disputed information that cannot be verified must be deleted from your file, then you will recieve a clean credit report, with that item removed.

If your report contains erroneous information, the CRA must correct it(clean credit).

If an item is incomplete, the CRA must complete it. For example, if your file showed that you were late making payments ( 30 days or more), but failed to show that you were no longer delinquent, the CRA must show that you’re current.

If your file shows an account that belongs only to another person, the CRA must delete it.

When the reinvestigation is complete, they must give you the written results and a free copy of your clean credit report, if the dispute results in a change. If an item is changed or removed, they cannot put the disputed information back in your file unless the information provider verifies its accuracy and completeness.

Also, if you request, they must send notices of clean credit report corrections to anyone who received your report in the past six months. Job applicants can have a corrected copy of their clean credit report sent to anyone who received a copy during the past two years for employment purposes. If a reinvestigation does not resolve your dispute, ask the CRA to include your statement of the dispute in your file and in future reports.

Second, in addition to writing to the credit agency, tell the creditor or other information provider in writing that you dispute an item. Again, include copies (please not originals) of documents that support your position. Many providers specify an address for disputes. If the provider then reports the item to any credit reporting angency, it must include a notice of your dispute. In addition, if you are correct that is, if the disputed information is not accurate the information provider may not use it again, thus you will have a clean credit report.

When negative information in your report is accurate, only the passage of time can assure its removal. Accurate negative information can generally stay on your report for 7 years.

Clean Credit: There are certain exceptions:

Bankruptcy information may be reported for 10 years.

Information about criminal convictions may be reported without any time limitation.

Credit information reported in response to an application for a job with a salary of more than $75,000 has no time limit.

Information about a lawsuit or an unpaid judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer. Criminal convictions can be reported without any time limit.

Credit information reported because of an application for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance has no time limit.

Adding clean credit accounts to your file:

Your credit file may not reflect all your clean credit accounts. Although most national department stores and all-purpose bank credit card accounts will be included in your file, not all creditors supply information: Some travel, entertainment, gasoline card companies, local retailers, and credit unions are among those creditors that don’t report clean credit.

If you’ve been told you were denied clean credit because of an insufficient credit file or no credit file and you have accounts with creditors that don’t appear in your credit file, ask the CRA to add this information to future reports. This will help get you on the road to a clean credit report. Although they are not required to do so, many CRAs will add verifiable accounts for a fee. You should, however, understand that if these creditors do not report to the CRA on a regular basis, these added items will not be updated in your file.

Loretta

Jim Baines asked:




OK, so you have a little (or maybe not so little) problem with your credit report. All is not lost, but you will have to dedicate some effort and time to “fix or repair” your credit score. Keep in mind that it took more than 30 days to screw your credit score up, so make sure that you follow the basic guidelines of restoring it.

There’s a lot of jargon and information you need to know before you start your repair project. Repairing your credit score is not brain surgery but you do need to adhere to some basics in order to accomplish your goal of a higher credit score. There’s a lot of misinformation out there about just exactly what a credit score is and how you improve it.

Don’t Get Ripped Off

Another problem with credit repair is there are 100′s if not 1000′s of scoundrels out there that prey on the unsuspecting person with less than stellar credit. They will make unrealistic claims that promise to fix anything for a price. And the worst part is that not only will they take your money, they can actually cause damage to your credit score.

Our less than perfect credit rating system is regulated by the government. Which can be both a good thing and a bad thing. But you should know a few facts and don’t get fooled.

You can also get a FREE credit report from all three major credit bureaus. Don’t pay for something that you can get for FREE. Go o the Federal Trade Commission’s site here to get the full details:
[http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.htm]

The only catch 22 is that you don’t get a credit score with your credit reports. But if you have been turned down by a creditor (or given what you think is an unfair rate) you can request the information from them and they will provide the score they used to determine your rate.

But it’s still pretty clear on the credit reports what might be having a negative impact on your credit score. So these reports are the first step in working on raising your credit score.

And keep in mind there are no secrets, no special methods, and certainly no one has any better chance than you, the owner of the credit score, to repair or fix your credit score.

What Is A Credit Score?

A credit bureau, or credit repository, is an entity that gathers information about consumers’ credit histories. Your credit history/report includes information regarding the following items:

– Identity information such as your name, address, social security number, spouse and date of birth.

– Payment habits such as how promptly you have made payments to previous creditors.

– Public records such as records of arrests, indictments, convictions, lawsuits, tax liens, marriage, bankruptcies, and court judgments.

– Debts.

– Other relevant credit data Information concerning your current employment such as the position you hold, length, and possibly your income.

– Information about your personal history such as the number of dependents you have, your previous addresses and information about your previous employment.

Credit bureaus sell credit reports to credit grantors, such as banks, finance companies, and retailers. Credit grantors use credit reports to determine whether or not a potential borrower is creditworthy.

There are three major credit bureaus in the United States:

* Equifax: 800-685-1111

* Experian: 888-397-3742

* Trans Union: 800-916-8800

These three bureaus provide nationwide coverage of consumer credit information. The credit bureaus are a for-profit system that generates billions of dollars in revenue each year from selling copies of credit reports to creditors and mailing lists. Trans Union made 1.5 BILLION dollars last year.

It is essential to understand that Credit Bureaus are nothing more than record keepers, and sometimes not very good ones. Consider the fact that these organizations are tracking millions of people with up to 40-50 entries per individual. In all fairness, I can’t even type a letter without making a couple of typos.

So mistakes happen, wrong information gets into the wrong file, and all three credit bureaus don’t talk. They are competitors so they don’t share information and all three can generate a different score. They all loosely base these scores on the FICO method.

FICO scores are based on 22 pieces of data collected by the three major credit bureaus. The lowest possible score is 300, while the highest is 850. None of the credit bureaus will apply these methods exactly the same and also may not have the same data so it’s common to get a different score from each one.

The lending companies (or creditors) will usually use this FICO based score provided to determine the risk of lending money or granting credit. The higher your score, the less risk, so the lower the rate. The difference in credit cost can be dramatic. If you are applying for a $216,00 mortgage and have a score of 630, your rate could be $1568 per month at 7.89%. If your rate was 680, you could get a rate of $1394 at 6.7%. That’s a $2100 per year difference so you can see how 50 points can have a big impact on your credit cost.

Basic Repair/Fixing Methods

You often hear that you should dispute (challenge) any and all negative information. But most people don’t know or advisors fail to mention that the creditor and the credit bureau may declare the disputes “frivolous” and not have to respond. So before you go crazy on disputes, keep that in mind. Many of the negative items do have a time limit imposed, depending on the item. Here’s a good set of guidelines on what to challenge:

– Information is not based on you (mistaken identity)

– Information is inaccurate based on what actually occurred.

– Information is outdated – there was an issue but it has been resolved.

– The time limit on the information has occurred.

– The information is totally incorrect with no valid basis

So once you have requested your FREE copies of your credit reports, you need to review them to find any inaccurate or false information. When you find a negative entry that you want to dispute, you need to send a letter of dispute, or file the dispute on line directly from the credit bureau website. Some say the online method is much quicker and since USPS does take days it probably is faster. The credit bureau has up to 30 days to verify the dispute with the filer of the negative information. If you forget to give all the necessary information and they request more information they can get an additional 15 days (total 45).

You can get a sample credit dispute letter here: www.newcleancredit.com/creditdisputeltr.pdf. So it’s important to make sure you provide all required information to shorten the process. Once filed the credit bureau will respond to you with the results.

The good news about our credit reporting system is that time marches on and you can start improving your credit score immediately. Most experts in the financial industry agree that the last 18 months is the most important. Try and negotiate any negative items that are true (bring payments up to date, settle old claims, work out new payment plans, whatever). Most creditors will be more than willing to work with you if you make an honest effort in resolving the negative issue. But make sure the creditor agrees to update your credit record.

You can also make sure any good credit information is listed. If you have credit experience that is favorable, write or contact the creditor and as to have it added to your credit report. Many times good information is never reported. You can also open new credit accounts from creditors and pay them off early (even if you have the money to pay cash) to get addition good credit entries.

Get our Free Repair Your Credit In 30 Days Guide for more details on how to raise your credit score here: www.newcleancredit.com/resources.shtml

Everyone should check his or her credit report each year. It’s now Free and won’t take much time as long as you stay on top of it. You can request one credit bureau at a time every 4 months and have a good idea of what’s been entered in the past 12 months.

New Clean Credit is a website that provides free information on Credit Repair. Along with their Free Repair Your Credit In 30 Days Guide they have a large amount of articles on just about every credit related subject. Increase your credit score today. Click here to learn more: www.newcleancredit.com/

Amanda

Waller Jamison asked:




Maintaining a good credit score isn’t easy at the best of times, but if you have worked hard to improve your credit and achieved a decent score, you wan to keep it that way. However, your credit score changes every time you take out a loan or are late with your payments and can also change through no fault of your own.

One of the reasons that your credit score can fall is because your report contains errors. This unfortunately can have an adverse effect on your ability to borrow money.

If you want to be sure that there are no mistakes in your credit score, you have to check it at regular intervals, that is to say at least once a year. And don’t forget that there are three major credit bureaus and each may have a slightly different score.

If you keep an eye on your credit score, you’ll be able to ensure that there are no major problems when you need to borrow money for a car, mortgage or other expensive item. It can be extremely inconvenient to be about to take out a loan and find that you are unable to do so because of problems with your credit score.

If you find any irregularities on your report you must contact the relevant credit bureau right away so that they can identify the problem and sort it out before it becomes a major issue. Any credit bureau dispute needs to be cleared up immediately.

Generally speaking, mistakes are just small errors which can be fixed quickly and without much effort, but even a minor error can prevent you getting credit when you need it most.

There are times when a mistake is the result of identity theft, which has become much more common these days and of course is a very serious problem, one that you must take steps to resolve immediately. If you are a victim of identity theft, the credit bureaus will put an alert on your file and this will explain the situation to any potential lenders. Identity theft can have long-term repercussions and is something you want to deal with as soon as possible.

Danielle