Regardless of your record or history, there are a number of quick & easy steps you can take towards credit repair. It's never too late, and costs nothing, yet the results can be huge!
You can begin by ordering a copy of your credit reports, going through them, and understanding them. There are three different credit reporting bureaus, and each one may have slightly different information.
The law entitles consumers to a free copy of the credit report, one from each of the three agencies: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. You are able to get one from each bureau every year.
The Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, has set up a website where you can order them: annualcreditreport.com. Be careful of any other website that claims to offer you free reports - this is the "official" site, and any others have strings attached.
As soon as you receive your reports, you can begin the process of credit repair. You will start by going through these files line by line.
These reports will either include a "dispute" form, or give you a web address to get them. This is the key where you will begin to fix your credit.
Make a note of each and every entry that is either incorrect, outdated, or inaccurate. For each of these, you will be filing a dispute. You will want to list why the entry should be removed, such as a debt that has already been paid but hasn't yet been removed.
By federal law, the credit reporting bureaus have up to 30 days to verify each dispute. If they don't do so, or don't do it within the 30 days, they must remove those entries from your credit report.
This simple step can remove many of the negative strikes against you, and they will no longer count towards lowering your credit score. In many cases, this can lift your score by up to hundreds of points! - 15224
You can begin by ordering a copy of your credit reports, going through them, and understanding them. There are three different credit reporting bureaus, and each one may have slightly different information.
The law entitles consumers to a free copy of the credit report, one from each of the three agencies: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. You are able to get one from each bureau every year.
The Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, has set up a website where you can order them: annualcreditreport.com. Be careful of any other website that claims to offer you free reports - this is the "official" site, and any others have strings attached.
As soon as you receive your reports, you can begin the process of credit repair. You will start by going through these files line by line.
These reports will either include a "dispute" form, or give you a web address to get them. This is the key where you will begin to fix your credit.
Make a note of each and every entry that is either incorrect, outdated, or inaccurate. For each of these, you will be filing a dispute. You will want to list why the entry should be removed, such as a debt that has already been paid but hasn't yet been removed.
By federal law, the credit reporting bureaus have up to 30 days to verify each dispute. If they don't do so, or don't do it within the 30 days, they must remove those entries from your credit report.
This simple step can remove many of the negative strikes against you, and they will no longer count towards lowering your credit score. In many cases, this can lift your score by up to hundreds of points! - 15224
