As young adults, we are taught many things. But one lesson most of us are not taught is something that will ultimately affect our entire lives.
Unless we learn the importance of earning and maintaining a good credit score, life can end up really hard. Not all bad credit marks are necessarily your fault though. There can often be errors in reporting leaving bad marks against your credit.
It is essential to know what your credit report looks like before you apply for a credit card or any loans. If there is an error, you can dispute bad credit marks against you.
If you are interested in credit repair,?there are professionals out there who will work towards improving your credit so that you can get approved for loans, receive lower interest rates (and save thousands of dollars), and more.?CreditRepair.com?will help you create a game plan to improve your credit score, they will contact credit companies directly on their own, they will communicate with the credit bureaus to work towards making a change, and they provide an online dashboard that will help you monitor everything that is going on. It is all very affordable and will most likely save you thousands in interest fees and late charges.
First, start by getting a copy of your credit report.
You can receive one free one each year from the three main credit agencies. Examine your report closely to ensure accuracy. If you do come across a mistake, you can begin taking the necessary steps to rectify it before the damage is too great. This could take some time to rectify, but it is important that you do.
There are companies that will offer to fix these problems for you. But depending on the company, you could pay up to eight hundred dollars per discrepancy. Not only is this expensive, but the companies don’t guarantee that your credit will be fixed. The best solution is to take the time to do it yourself. This legwork will take patience and persistence however, so be prepared. It is not a quick fix.
Submit a claim.
If you do find a mistake and you need to dispute bad credit against you, you will need proof of your claim. Any documents you have supporting this error should be copied and sent to the creditor. Make sure you obtain the originals however, because once those leave your hands, you never know what may happen to them. You can dispute anything from an incorrect name spelling to a wrong address or wrong amount owed. Also, keep a copy of your dispute letter along with the date sent. This will be important later.
It usually takes thirty days for a dispute to be resolved. If you have not heard from the company within thirty days, contact the credit reporting companies. They will remove your bad credit from the report. You will need documentation however that you did dispute the claim, which is why you kept copy of the original dispute letter. No matter what you are disputing, this is true.
Get another copy.
When you have done everything to dispute bad credit marks against you, send for another copy of your credit report. This is to make sure that the offending item has been removed from your credit record. If it remains and you have had contact with the company holding the claim against you, then they did not dissolve the debt. You can file another claim, but it must be for a different reason than the first time. They will not go further unless you have tangible proof that you are correct.
When it is necessary for you to dispute bad credit, your dispute letter should contain an explanation of the problem or error on your report as well as the correct documentation proving your claim. After the problem is cleared up, you should request that a letter be sent to anyone who in the past six months has pulled your credit report for whatever reason. If you find that you are incorrect about the mark on your credit, and you do owe money, contact the creditor. They will usually work with you to get the amount paid off. You may be given payment options or even a reduced amount. They are usually happy to get any money owed to them. Get all agreements in writing.
An agreement.
If you are able to reach an agreement with your creditor, you need to make sure it is reported to the credit agencies. This is so it gets removed from your credit report. You will be able to get your credit back into good standing.
After all of this, you need to get yet another copy of your credit report. Make sure that it’s removed. Contact the creditor if you have paid off the debt and it hasn’t been removed from your report. If it hasn’t, you need to pursue the situation further to make certain it gets removed.
Image via Flickr by TrinityCreditServices
