Steven Anna asked:




When it’s time to fix your credit score, there are two options: you can spend the time to learn the requisite aspects of the credit reporting business, or you can utilize a professional credit repair service. There are benefits to taking either path.

Option one is repairing your own credit. The big benefit of repairing your own credit is that the financial cost is minimal. Most people find the credit repair process daunting and confusing, but once you understand how it all works, it is certainly possible to go it alone. One thing to keep in mind is that fixing your credit score on your own will probably be a time consuming undertaking.

The first step of the process is obtaining your reports from the three primary credit bureaus; Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax. You will notice right away that the reports do not match; that’s because each company has their own set of reporting standards. This is why it is critical to obtain credit reports from all three of the bureaus. Review and compare the three reports, and make a list of all the inaccurate items.

The next step is to write letters to each of the credit bureaus to dispute each of the erroneous entries. Note that you need to write a separate letter for each specific item that you are disputing to each bureau that lists that particular account.

Within a month you should receive a letter back from the applicable credit bureau with a disposition for your dispute. Follow up with each applicable bureau until all of the erroneous data has been corrected.

Option two is to utilize a professional credit repair company to help you fix your credit score. Credit repair companies can help you fix your credit score fast because they have an intimate knowledge of exactly what actions influence credit score and by how many points.

A good credit repair company also has direct contacts that they deal with regularly at the credit bureaus which is certainly going to quicken the pace of the action. Depending on your circumstances, it is possible to increase your credit score as much as 200 points in a matter of weeks. The downside is that you have to pay them for their service.

The bottom line is that whether you choose to hire a credit repair company, or you decide to go it alone depends on if you would rather spend the time to do it yourself or spend the money to hire an expert… just like most things in life.

Loretta

Scott Paul asked:




Do you know your credit score? How do you interpret your score and repair it if necessary? Credit scores are a big part of our financial stability and future. In order to secure the best future for you and your family you NEED to have good credit. A huge step to improving your credit is to understand the credit bureaus and how they formulate a credit score.

If you own your own home, or car, or taken out a car loan you are probably familiar with credit lines. If you have good credit you can get low interest rates and if you have poor credit you will have high interest rates or maybe secured loans. Credit score scales are basically all formulated the same way.

They look at you previous credit history, which would include poor credit history, faulted loans, late payments, amount of the payments, number of payments, number of loans, length of time you have had credit, credit cards, checking account lines of credit and so on and so forth. All these things impact your credit and if you are late on payments or are never using credit at all it will take a long time to improve your credit. The best advice to get good credit is to use it often, but use it in small amounts that are easy to pay off on time so you don’t shoot yourself in the foot.

Another thing people don’t often think of is that credit inquiries and credit applications also affect your credit score and make you look suspicious.

Barbara

Robert S Holland asked:




Lenders check your credit when you apply for credit. If you are looking to buy furniture on credit, buy a new car, get a mortgage on a new home, your credit is reviewed. When the lender pulls your credit report it is considered an inquiry. Those inquiries count against you on your credit report.

They count against you because lenders think that you are looking around for credit and if you get all of the credit you may be a bigger risk. That risk relates into a problem for you. The credit bureaus will count that risk into their calculations on your credit score. Because it is a negative risk, it so reflects on your credit report.

Some people say that inquiries don’t hurt your score and other say they only affect your credit score a little. But they can affect your credit score and if you have a lot of inquiries, you will see a definite change in your credit score.

So try to keep your inquiries down. If you need a car, then I suggest that you apply for any automobile loans all at one time. This will give you several inquiries all at once and will appear that you are “shopping” for a car loan. When the bureaus see a group of inquiries all at one time they group them together and they do about as much damage as 1 inquiry rather than several.

The same is true for other things as well, such as a Home Mortgage. If you apply at several mortgage places and they all run your credit, it will appear that you were shopping for a Home mortgage. The damage is greatly reduced.

Just remember if you get accepted for all that credit, you will have a new problem. You will have a lot of “new credit”. This new credit will lower your score (because of the age of the account(s) and raise your available credit limit (in comparison with your income). But if you see any hard inquiries (the ones that count against you) that you did not apply for, dispute them and do the credit repair.

Andrew

Scoremore2 asked:

www.ScoreMoreCredit.com – Credit expert, Brian Diez, reveals how the credit bureaus profit by keeping you confused about your real credit scores. Credit repair does work if you use an expert that understands the credit system. Repair your credit and improve your credit score as much as 249 points in as little as 45 days!

Chad

Jacqueline Harris asked:




Credit Report

A credit report is the record of financial information of an individual or company taken place on credit in a financial year. The report contains all detailed information about credit borrowings, repayment, late payments, and any bankruptcy claim. How the report turns out is instrumental in building an individuals credit reputation. This means whether the person will be able to receive any credit in the future, depends on the report. Also, if the report is too bad, the person has to seek remedial measures like debt consolidation and short sales. Ideally, the procedure goes like this – the person fills out application form from a bank or credit card company and this information is forwarded to designated credit bureau. The task credit bureau has is to match the information given by the person to the file records. This record acts as informative store for lenders to determine the repayment capability of a concerned person. On the basis of all these accumulated date, the credit report is prepared and given to the person.

Credit Score

The formation of the score is based upon the report. It is the statistical expression of the report of the person and shows the credit worthiness of the same. The score is prepared by credit bureaus along with the report or if the person sends in a separate request. What is the purpose of credit score? The credit score is used by banks and financial institutions to decide whether the person applying for loan has actual repayment capability or is the bank going to run into losses. Private moneylenders need the credit reports to ascertain whether the person can pay according to the accepted interest rate and what credit limit should be posed. Also, the credit score also determines the revenue generation capacity of the person. Not only banks or financial institutions ask credit score, mobile phone companies, landlord agreements, employers and other also need them. There are separate levels in which the report is shown and each point level has significance.

Both the report and score complement each other!

Elizabeth

Scott Brown asked:




What are inquiries?

When you apply for credit the creditor or lender checks your credit report to verify that you qualify for the credit or loan you are applying for. The “inquiry” is then reported to the credit bureaus and shows up on your credit report.

Does this affect your credit rating or score?

Yes, it does. Although only a few points are deducted from your score for each inquiry, having multiple inquiries may drop your score to a lower bracket, forcing a higher interest rate. You may not even qualify for the loan or line of credit at all.

Will requesting your credit report generate an inquiry?

This is a common misconception and is totally false. You should view your report at least once a month. Doing so will not generate any inquiries.

What if you did not authorize an inquiry, can you dispute it?

Yes. If you did not authorize any of the inquiries on your credit report you can and should dispute them. To dispute inquiries obtain your credit report, then make a copy of your credit report, highlighting the inquiries in dispute. Finally, send the copy of your highlighted inquiries along with a letter demanding the inquiries be deleted from your credit report to the credit bureau.

Is it worth it?

The next time you are out shopping and the salesperson asks you, “Would you like to apply for our credit line and receive 15% off your purchase?” Ask yourself, “Is it worth it?”

Darrell

Justin Smith asked:




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

Alan

Paul Sarwana asked:




Many people find themselves trapped in bad credit due to various reasons, some due to misfortune while others suffer from this problem because of mismanagement of finances. No matter what may be the reason for bad credit, it is important for every individual to rebuild their credit rating.

As many people have successfully repaired their credit themselves you can effectively repair your credit yourself — without the help of a professional — even if you have a nasty bad credit. However, as bad credit repair takes times, you will need some patience and strong will power to get yourself out of your problems.

As you may already know there are three top credit bureaus, they are TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. First, start out by getting credit reports and see what the various bureaus have to say about you. These credit reports shall be able to give you a somewhat clear picture of your credit history.

Once you have your credit reports, it is crucial for you to go through them thoroughly and pay attention to every intricate detail. In most cases, every consumer has at least one error on one credit report if not more; some may even have multiple errors on all three credit reports. This situation arises because the reports are created using the information provided by various creditors and the bureaus do not verify each piece of information provided to them.

There are several errors that are most commonly found on credit reports like old information, typing errors etc. Identify such errors in your report if any and make sure to report to the bureau, also have it removed at the earliest. Doing this can work wonders for your credit.

Taking informed decisions will no doubt help you turn your bad credit into good credit. For this, you would need to stop the habit of late payments. Ensure that you repay on time if not before scheduled time. By making sure that your repayments are smooth and without any flaws, your bad credit would soon convert to good credit.

Also, it is a good idea to keep your credit accounts to a maximum of 2 or 3. A huge number of accounts would get difficult to handle. Once you close all the additional accounts over a period of several months, make sure to report these accounts “closed” to the credit reporting agencies.

Ronnie

Jon Arnold asked:




A lot of people have bad credit these days. Sometimes it is simply a matter of not taking their credit privileges seriously. Maybe your credit card issuer has provided you with the utmost in poor customer service, so you feel no obligation to pay your credit card bill on time, thinking “I’ll show them who is boss”. Do not deceive yourself this way, because they will ultimately have the last laugh as they report your LATE payments to the credit bureaus, and this hurts you by giving you a lower credit score than you should or could have.

Maybe you had fallen on some hard times several months or several years ago, when you got laid off from your job, you were going through a divorce, you had some unexpectedly high medical expenses, or a myriad of other possibilities. Whatever it was, it caused you to get behind in your payments, so you were reported to the credit bureaus as having late payments, which again lowers your credit score.

The value of having a good credit score these days cannot be underestimated. When you go to apply for a new job, chances are high that your credit will be checked, which most employers feel is a good indication of your character and how seriously you take your duties and obligations. A poor credit score is also going to cause you to pay a higher interest rate on your mortgage, your car loan payments, and many other things, which can add up to costing you hundreds and even thousands of dollars more in interest than you would have paid with a good credit score.

So let’s assume that those previous problems are behind you, you understand the value of making payments on time, and that you now want to rebuild your credit so that your credit score will also be increased. Keep in mind that this is a PROCESS and it does not happen overnight. In reality, it will take a minimum of several months of consistently good actions on your part, but that is also part of how your credit score is derived, by looking at your credit HISTORY and seeing a consistently good record. And of course, it takes time to create that history.

Another very important step that many people forget or do not take time to do is to get a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies, which are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Each of them keeps a credit report on you, and since they do not share data between them, each very likely has a different view of you from a credit perspective. Get your credit reports and go over them with a fine tooth comb looking for inaccurate information. The reality is that the majority of consumer credit reports contain errors, and those errors do not get corrected automatically. In fact, they NEVER get corrected unless YOU initiate the action to get it corrected.

Another reason for going over your credit reports is to look for accounts that do not belong to you. The crime of identity theft is the fastest growing crime of this century, and you could be a victim of identity theft and not even know about it, although this would probably be reflected in your credit reports by listing accounts that you do not know about.

To improve your credit score, there are multiple ways to do it. With the credit cards you already have, make sure that you make your payments on time. If you mail your payments in, make sure to mail them enough ahead of time so that the payment will be posted to your account prior to the due date. More than anything else, making payments on time, consistently, will be your best friend in your goal of raising your credit score.

Get a secured credit card. Typically you can be approved for one or more of these, since your credit limit is exactly the same as the amount of money you have put on deposit with the card issuer. Use the card sparingly, but always pay it off at the end of the month.

As your credit starts to improve, you may qualify for an unsecured credit card. Again, use it sparingly and pay it off at the end of each month. Always make sure to pay on time.

You did not get bad credit overnight, and your credit score will not improve overnight. But with consistent action on your part and making each and every one of your payments on time, your credit score will improve and give you the type of credit score that you can be proud of.

Paul

MF Calhoun asked:




If you are not sure whether your credit score is good or bad, you might want to know how lenders determine what is good credit score ranking for its applicants.

A good score will differ somewhat among lenders. Your income and how long you have been employed, current debt load, whether you own a home, and other information will factor in as well as your overall

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