I commonly come across people with poor credit scores. I think about ways that they can improve their credit score themselves. With the state of the U.S. economy, a lot of individuals have experienced financial distress and damaged their credit histories. People have lost their jobs and many more have had their homes foreclosed which has created a multitude of credit problems for today’s consumer.
In addition to this, the current economic crunch has made it increasingly difficult for individuals with bad credit scores to be approved for financing and loans. Fortunately, with a little discipline and due diligence, you can easily repair your credit report score on your own.
Here are a few steps to consider if you want to repair your credit report scores and restore your good name in the process:
Step #1 – Start paying your bills on time no matter what. You should have been doing this to begin with, but this is no time to start condemning yourself. Having late payments (payments that are 30 days late or later) on your consumer credit report is one of the most damaging aspects of a person’s credit history. Even if you can only make the minimum payment due, pay it…consistently.
Step #2 – Whittle down your credit card use and start paying cash whenever you can. The majority of the consumer credit reports that have negative marks on them today are due to credit card debt.
Step #3 – Avoid filing for bankruptcy if you can. Bankruptcies stay on your credit report for 10 years and hurt your credit rating. Additionally, charge-offs, collections, and tax liens will be listed by credit reporting agencies for up to 7 years.
Step #4 – Obtain a copy of your credit report on an annual basis. You can obtain a free one, one a year, from http://www.annualcreditreport.com. Check for any errors on your credit report and dispute them immediately. Over 70% of all credit reports contain errors and many of those are serious enough to depress one’s credit score.
Step #5 – If you find errors on any of your credit score reports, dispute them immediately. You have a very short two year statute of limitations within which to dispute errors on your credit report that you find. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are responsible for disputing the inaccuracy of these errors and you have to get the ball rolling if you want to clear these issues up. You can do one of two things to get the correction process started. Disputing an item on your credit report is easy. You can actually dispute items on line with each credit reporting agency. If that is not convenient, then send in a letter disputing the item. Be sure to identify yourself by name, address and social security number. Also be sure to identify the trade line that you are disputing by creditor name, account number and account balance.
Step #6 – Develop your personal plan for reducing your debt and then stick to it. Creditors may not always agree with what you propose but at least they will realize that you are trying to make things right instead of running away from the problem.
If you have any questions or issues related to credit repair or if a debt collector harasses you, contact me, Attorney Gary Nitzkin at (888) 293-2882 or by email at [email protected]. For more information, visit our website at www.micreditlawyer.com
