With the changing economy there are many people who are experiencing problematic credit. Consequently, there are many credit repair solutions that are being heavily advertised. Some of these companies are completely legitimate and they can offer some much-needed assistance but as you may have guessed, there are also some scams out there.
It is just a plain fact that the majority of credit reports contain errors. It is inevitable that the error rate on credit reports would be high just for the sheer fact that the credit bureaus compile massive amounts of information on millions of people every single day. There are blatant mistakes on credit reports but there are also many mistakes of omission or inclusions that if repaired could show the consumer in a better light by improving their credit reports and increasing their scores.
Since the error rate on credit reports were so rampant, back in 1970, Congress enacted the Federal Credit Reporting Act or the FCRA. This gave consumers the right to dispute inaccurate or erroneous information that showed on their credit reports and prevented them from getting credit.
Credit repair can work and you can improve your bad credit but it is not an easy and quick fix. There are many myths and exaggerated claims out there right now that claim that credit repair can be easy and quick. While using different credit repair techniques can definitely help your poor credit there are no guarantees and it is unlikely that it can happen really quickly. Good credit repair requires time and expertise. But you can greatly improve on a bad credit situation.
If you have unfair, misleading, inaccurate or other erroneous information showing on your credit report the FCRA gives you the right to dispute it. After the credit bureaus receive copy of your complaint, they have 30 days in which to verify the accuracy of their information or they must delete the listing entirely. The dispute process has proven successful for many people in getting erroneous information removed.
When you are checking out your credit report, you need to also be aware of any exclusions, or positive things that should be included but are not, and also inclusions or things that are included that don?t necessarily need to be. Make sure that your available credit balances are listing because this affects your debt to available credit ratio, which is a very important factor in determining your credit score. Also make sure to check for old and obsolete information that may still be listed, as information should only stay on your account for 7 years from the date of first delinquency.
Other steps you can take to improve your credit include using your older credit cards more often than new ones because length of credit history is important and paying down balances in order to improve the debt to available credit ratio. Both of these factors are important for your ultimate credit score.
