Filed Under Finance | Comments Off

credit reports
David Siegel asked:


s world, having a bad credit report may be detrimental. Even though in most cases consumers have brought this upon themselves, in some cases the bad credit report may be caused by a glitch in the credit bureau system. As up to 25% of credit reports have a substantial error that can affect the consumer in getting credit, housing or a job. Although, some may feel helpless against the unperfected credit bureau system, that is far from the truth.

Every person should order a credit report at least once a year, it is free on annualcreditreport.com. This report should be carefully examined for mistakes and biased information. Once a mistake is found the credit bureau should be contacted through certified mail, explaining the mistake. The creditor that reported the information to the bureau should also be contacted by mail, stating the mistake that was found. The Fair Credit Report Act mandates credit bureau to delete all incorrect information that may be on the report. Therefore once the credit bureau receives your letter disputing the mistake within the report, it will investigate the glitch by contacting the creditor and trying to verify the credit report. If the creditor does not respond in time or if he does not verify the information on the original report then the bureau will delete the erroneous information from the report.

Furthermore, if your credit report displays information that you feel is biased towards you, you can add an explanatory note explaining the situation. For example, if you moved to another address while your bills kept coming to your old address, causing impairment to your credit score, you can add a note to your credit report explaining that situation. Just write a note to the bureau explaining that you would like such a note included on the report. Sometimes an easier route to fixing your credit report is by contacting the creditor that reported the problem to your credit bureau and asking them to clear up the glitch, by contacting the bureau.

No matter which approach you take to fixing your credit report you need to make sure that the mistake has been fixed by getting a subsequent credit report. Remember if the credit report gets a letter notifying them of a glitch, they have to investigate it, and if they can’t verify the original report then they have to delete the information. By taking control of your credit report, you can begin to change your financial picture.



GERARD
credit reports
Sam D asked:


I am willing to pay for these reports as long as the information included is very detailed.

JEAN
credit reports
asked:


Are there any websites that really offer FREE credit reports?

IVAN

Filed Under Credit | Comments Off

credit reports
Helen Hecker asked:


Today having good credit reflected in your credit report is important in every financial situation you find yourself in as you probably know and knowing a few tips about credit repair can solve a lot of your credit problems. In our world credit determines just how much interest you’ll end up paying on your house, car, truck, etc.

Your credit scores, called FICO, are used by your landlords, your employers and the insurance companies to determine whether you can get an apartment and/or job and even what your insurance rates will be. Yes your insurance agent will make use of your credit information. Your credit report and score will indicate whether you have good credit or bad credit and whether you have to pay a deposit for a cell phone.

Assuming you already have a copy of your credit report, here are a few of the best credit repair tips if you’re having credit problems. If you don’t have a copy you can easily get a free credit report online. You won’t be able to get the score along with the free report though. There are other ways to get your FICO score that you would have to pay for but there are ways to get your score for free.

1. Get a copy of the ‘Fair Credit Reporting Act’ from the federal government. It may sound boring but you don’t have to read the entire legal portion, just understand the basics of the Act. You’ll be well-armed if you plan to fix your credit report. But it’s very important that you get it and read it. It won’t take long.

2. Did you know that any information on your credit report can be disputed? That includes any personal information – public records, any accounts you have of course, even any inquiries. You can dispute anything.

3. Consider credit repair to be a gradual process. Look over the information, your credit card accounts and other accounts. Let’s say you have 15 accounts that you’d like to dispute. Pick just 3 or 4 or so to dispute. Otherwise if you dispute them all at one time the credit bureau or credit reporting agency will not consider your requests seriously.

4. You want to keep your letters of dispute on the simple side. You don’t need to go into the laws, procedures any court rulings or even threaten them with lawsuits if they don’t fix your credit report. Just make it simple.

Just dispute the accounts you have decided to start with – those that need to be removed, updated or changed. Now if your letter is too confusing, there is a good chance it will get tossed. You don’t need to go into any personal tales. Just keep it simple and short.

5. Lastly the ‘procedural request’ – asking for the method of verification. If you get some accounts deleted that’s good. But for those that came back “verified” you can ask for a ‘procedural request.’ The credit reporting agencies and credit bureaus are obligated by law to provide you with the exact method your creditors used to verify the information that they are reporting to the agency on your credit report. Requesting this information, forces the credit bureau to provide you with the information they received from your creditor as valid proof.

The creditor needs to have proof of why if they replied to your dispute stating that your account should remain on your credit report. The creditor rarely ever provides the credit reporting agency or credit bureau with this information. So, by doing this you’re putting pressure on them to prove it. Otherwise they will have to remove it.

Make sure to keep records of everything the bureaus and your creditors send to you in case you find some day that you have to sue them for violating your federal rights. If you follow these credit repair tips you should be well on your way to fixing your credit for good!



BARTON

Next Page →