the Do-It-Yourself Way
Negative remarks on your credit report can cost
serious money. You do not have to despair though,
since it is never too late to become credit worthy
again. However, always remember that credit repair do
not happen overnight. It requires serious dedication
and perseverance to start in a clean slate once more.
How to Get Started
You should know what the three credit bureaus are and
what they are saying about you. Since creditors do not
have to report to Equifax, TransUnion and Experian all
together, they generally only report to one or some to
which they are subscribed to. This only means that
each report from each bureau is slightly different
from one another.
The first thing you need to do is to order your credit
report. Remember to order it from each bureau because
you would only waste time and money if you only order
a credit report from one bureau. The cost of the
credit report might vary from state to state though it
is estimated that the cost of your credit report is
around $9.
However, you are entitled to a free copy of your
credit report from the agency if you have been denied
of employment or credit due to your credit report. You
can ask the company to provide you with the name of
the credit bureau, telephone number and address.
Once you get a hold of your credit report, examine it
carefully. Since the credit bureaus create your credit
report basing on the information they receive on your
creditors, they are never verified. It is your job to
maintain your credit report a good reflection of you.
Be on the lookout for errors on typing, incomplete
information, and outdated and inaccurate histories of
your account. After examining the report correctly,
list all the errors you want to dispute and the
reasons why.
Since bad reports cost money, remember to be thorough.
You have two choices, which is to either complete the
argument form supplied with your credit report or
write a letter. It is also recommended to send a
photocopy of your report with the errors circled to
the credit bureau who supplied the report.
Additionally, do not forget to include supporting
documents with your report.
After sending the documents and report, do not forget
to keep copies of all the forms and the date you sent
it. Normally, the bureau will investigate the dispute
in the span of thirty days prior to receiving your
letter. More so, any item that is proved to be
inaccurate is removed.
Stability in Your Credit Life
Another way to repair your credit is to show that you
can still work on adding positive information and
stability in your credit life. Even if you have the
credit, there can be a time when you get denied of
credit due to insufficient credit file. There are
several creditors that do not report your credit
history to the credit bureaus. What you can do is to
try asking the grantors to report the information of
your account and the history of your monthly payment
to the credit-reporting agency.
You can also try building a solid credit history
through the use of secured credit cards. These kinds
of credit cards are offered to those with no credit or
in the process of repairing their credit.
Additionally, it is advised to open a savings account
in your bank. Doing so, would show your creditors that
you are trying to save and that you are reserving
money to pay off your debts.