When your credit report contains mistakes, you credit score will be unnecessarily lowered. This will make getting additional credit difficult for you. Repairing your credit yourself is the surefire way to getting your financial life back on track. Check out the following tips on how you fix your credit on your own.
Resist the temptation to cut up and throw away all of your credit cards when you are trying to repair bad credit. It may seem counterintuitive, but it’s very important to begin maintaining a history of responsible credit card use. Establishing that you can pay off your balance on time each month, will help you improve your credit score.
If you have bad credit, do not use your children’s credit or another relative’s. This will lower their credit score before they even had a chance to build it. If your children grow up with a good credit score, they might be able to borrow money in their name to help you out later in life.
Make sure you receive a physical contract from all credit collection agencies. The agreement should spell out exactly how much you owe, the payment arrangements, and if they are charging any additional fees. Be very wary if the company is hesitant to provide you a contract. There are unscrupulous firms out there who will take your money without actually closing your account.
Be wary of all companies related to your finances as there are a ton of agencies out there with a million and one scams dealing with your money. Credit protection plans, offering to rebuild your credit or suspend your debt, are all generally scams. Research anything dealing with your money before signing up.
To improve your credit worthiness, pay off your credit cards but DON’T close the accounts. It is an ironic truth that creditors want to lend credit to people who don’t really need it. Two of the major factors going into the computation of your FICO credit score are the amount of credit you have available to you and how much of it you are using. Paying down your credit card balances is the ideal way to improve your FICO score and bring expenses under control. As you accomplish this, there is a tendency to want to close the credit card account altogether to be done with it. Don’t do that! Retaining the account keeps the line of credit open and enhances your overall financial standing with creditors. Just set the credit card aside and don’t use it again except for serious emergencies.
An important tip to consider when working to repair your credit is the fact that you can and should report any illegal credit repair related activity to the National Fraud Information Center at 1-800-876-7060. This is important for your safety and the safety of others. You may also contact them for advice.
Utilize the tools that are on the Federal Trade Commission’s website. You will find sample letters that you can use to dispute things that you find inaccurate on your credit report. There are additional ways to dispute these inaccuracies but they are a bit less user friendly and can be confusing.
If you are transferring large balances from one card to another – to avoid hurting your credit score and avoid interest charges – be sure to close each previous card as you pay it off. Having numerous open lines of credit will hurt your score and negate any benefit you might receive from transferring the balances.
When trying to repair your credit, it is important to know you are entitled to a no-cost credit report from each of the three U.S. consumer reporting companies. Annually, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are legally required to give you a complimentary copy of your credit report, if you request one. Each of these three companies has a website, a mailing address, and a toll-free telephone number which can be used to ask for a free annual report.
The first step in repairing your credit is to consult with a professional. This can be a lawyer, accountant, or anyone who is experienced with financial matters. Getting the help of one of these individuals can help you understand credit laws so that you can make a plan of action.
If you believe there is an error on your credit report, be sure to submit a specific dispute with the proper bureau. Along with a letter describing the error, submit the incorrect report and highlight the disputed information. The bureau must start processing your dispute within a month of your submission. If a negative error is resolved, your credit score will improve.
Asking for help from a friend or a family member who consistantly proves to manage their money and credit in a responsible way, is a great way to learn how to repair your credit ratings. Be open to their advice and take what they say to heart.
When you are attempting to repair your credit, use registered mail for all of your correspondence with the credit bureaus and the collection agencies you deal with. Registered mail provides you with a documented paper trail that you can use to prove when you sent letters. This will make it harder for your creditors to ignore your correspondence.
Do what you say you will do! If you need to fix your credit, the key is to make yourself reliable. People with high credit scores are reliable in that they pay their bills on time, and they don’t back away from their obligations. Force yourself to be reliable by following this example.
By now you have seen that there are a lot of ways that you can improve a bad credit score. Try implementing just a few of these tips, and see how your credit score rises as a result. Do-it-yourself credit repair is often a success and can help raise your credit rating.
