In the current economy there are many people who have suffered credit problems. Everybody wants to have perfect credit but sometimes we all have unforeseen circumstances. Credit problems are troublesome for individuals because it can be difficult if not impossible to get credit, if you do manage to get credit you can be charged a higher interest rate or you may have to put down more collateral than usual.
However, there are some steps you can take to repair your credit. The very first thing to do is to get a current credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies. In the United States they are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Each year you are entitled to one report for free or you can also get a merged report that contains all three in one for a fee.
When you have your report, you will need to examine it carefully for errors and inaccuracies. It has been estimated that as many as 79% of all credit reports contain mistakes and errors so it is unlikely that your report is totally accurate. You can dispute anything out of the ordinary or anything that is inaccurate.
The credit reporting agencies are not concerned with the accuracy of their information. The fact is that they make their money by selling the information, it doesn?t matter to them if it is accurate or not. If there are mistakes on your report you are the only one who suffers so it is your responsibility to make sure that your credit report is accurate and correct.
Back in the 1970?s the Fair Credit Reporting Act was enacted to protect consumers. This law gives you the right to dispute anything that you deem to be incorrect or inaccurate on your report. You must submit a formal written dispute to the credit bureaus and after they receive the dispute they have between 30 and 45 days to either verify the accuracy of their listings or delete it from your report.
Since the credit bureaus do not make money by dealing with disputes a consumer actually has an advantage when it comes to disputing credit listings. If you put forth a good case you have a good chance of getting the information removed.
While you are disputing the inaccurate listings it is also wise to start rebuilding some good credit. Make all payments on time and try to pay down the balances on any debts that you owe. A large percentage of your credit score is actually how much credit you have available compared to how much credit you have used. If you want a high credit score you need to have access to credit but not be using it.
You can rebuild and repair your credit, you just need to take some actions to get started. If your financial situation such as your current income and job are in order, then now is the time to do whatever it takes to repair your credit.
