Credit Report Repair Advice
Repairing Your Credit Score and Clearing Derogatory Marks
on Your Credit Report
By Justin Smith
Raising your credit score can be a fairly simple and straightforward process
unless you have derogatory marks that need to be disputed (which will be
explained below).
The reasons for bad credit can be as follows, high balances, bankruptcies,
late payments, and many others. The most significant thing you can do to
raise your score is to change your financial habits. Chances are that if you
have a bad credit score, you did something to make it that way. Here are
some of the best ways to quickly raise your credit score:
1. The most obvious: pay off your debt! This doesn't
include a home mortgage, but revolving balances such as credit card debt, a
car loan, etc.
2. Make every payment on time. This is the most important factor in your
credit score rating. If you have had late payments in the past, it will take
some time to see real results from your on-time payments, but keep it up,
sooner or later the credit bureau will notice the change in your payment
habits. Develop the mentality that no late payment is acceptable!
3. If possible, pay over your minimum amount. This is especially important
with credit card balances, and will reflect a slight boost in your score.
4. If you have paid off all your debt, and your credit score seems to be at
a stand still, you might want to make small purchases each month with your
credit card and pay them off immediately. Often times the credit bureaus
like to see at least some kind of activity. Otherwise, they have no way to
gauge how you are doing financially.
5. Be patient! Sometimes repairing credit can be a long and arduous process.
Especially if you have had a bankruptcy. It can often take the better part
of a year or more to see any significant raises in your score.
Clearing a derogatory mark on your credit report:
This is probably the most difficult in regards to credit repair. If you have
requested a copy of your credit report, and notice a problem (an example
would be a late payment mark), that shouldn't be there, you need to take
action to get the derogatory mark cleared as soon as possible. It is
extremely important to get your credit score cleared before you attempt to
get prequalified for mortgage.
Here are the steps you should take:
First of all, if you are in contact with a loan officer, you may want to
describe the problem you are having to them. They can be very helpful when
it comes to credit repair, and should know exactly what to do if you have a
bad mark on your credit that is a mistake. In some cases, they may even call
the creditor for you to address the situation.
Second, you should call your creditor and each credit bureau to find out
which course of action you should take. In most cases, writing a letter will
do. Here is an example letter:
Date 00/00/00
Dear Big Credit Bureau,
This letter is a complaint that you are reporting inaccurate and/or
incomplete credit information on my credit report.
I am displeased that you have included the below information in my credit
profile that includes the following errors. Credit reporting laws ensure
that bureaus report 100% accurate credit information.
The following information concerning my credit report needs to be
re-investigated. I respectfully request to be provided proof of this alleged
item on my credit report. If this cannot be provided, the item must be
deleted from my report as soon as possible:
CREDITOR AGENCY, acct. 123-34567-ABC
The listed item is inaccurate and/or incomplete, and is a serious error in
reporting. Please delete this information, and supply a corrected credit
profile to all creditors who have received a copy within the last 6 months,
or the last 2 years for employment purposes. Also, please provide the name,
address, and telephone number of each credit grantor or other subscriber.
Under federal law, you have 30 days to complete your re- investigation. Be
advised that the description of the procedure used to determine the accuracy
and completeness of the information is hereby requested as well, to be
provided within 15 days of the completion of your re-investigation.
Sincerely,
your signature
Your Name
SSN# 123-45-6789
Unfortunately, you will need to write 3 separate letters to each of the 3
major credit bureaus. Here are the contact addresses for each:
Trans Union
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
1-800-888-4213
Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
1-800-997-2493
Experian
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013-2104
1-888-397-3742
Justin is the President of the Christian Real Estate Network - http://www.HisMove.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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