Credit Repair With High Impact
October 7, 2009 by Gordon Ray
Filed under Bad Credit
Loads of people are under pressure with low credit scores and dreadful credit reports and the present economic conditions are just making it worse. Many of the regular rules of the past are becoming obsolete and numerous people may not know just where to turn or what to do about credit problems.
Only some people realize just what a credit score is composed of. For example it is not common knowledge that your credit score can be reduced by inquiries on your account and by your debt to credit ratio. The truth is that you are considered to be riskier if it looks as if you are shopping for credit so inquiries reduce your score and if you have credit and use it you are also considered a higher risk. In order to have a high credit score you need to minimize your debt to less than about 15 to 35% of the credit you have available and no more.
Congress enacted the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the FCRA in order to guard consumers from untruthful and inaccurate reporting on their credit. Under this law you have the right to obtain one free credit report from each of the major credit bureaus each year. Taking advantage of this is a sensible thing to do so that you can track your credit and make sure that it is being reported truthfully.
One reason is since it is estimated that as many as 75% or more of all credit reports contain mistakes and inaccuracies. These mistakes can cause you many difficulties if they come up when you are trying to get credit. You can avoid many of these problems if you obtain your report every year and check it out for mistakes and inaccuracies.
The FCRA has also given you a right as a consumer to dispute mistakes and inaccuracies and get them removed from your report. After a dispute is issued the credit bureaus have 30 to 45 days to demonstrate that the information they are reporting is accurate. If it is not verified within the time frame it must be deleted from the report. As many as 45% of all the disputes that are received are not verified within the time frame and a smart consumer can take advantage of that fact.
There are also other things that you can do to increase your credit score and credit rating. Because the debt to credit ratio is so significant you can get your credit limits increased or you can pay down your balances so that your debt does not exceed 15 to 35% or your available credit. You should also absolutely avoid any inquiries into your credit. If you must shop for credit be very selective and only shop where you know you will get the credit and then have the creditor combine the inquiry into the loan reporting. That way you will not be showing inquiries.
You can work to repair and better your credit on your own or you can hire a professional that specializes in credit repair. If you do that make sure that you are getting a business that is reputable with a respectable track record. Do not squander money to a scammer because it will just cause you more problems in the future.
Credit repair can be accomplished. It is not a fairy tale. Congress passed the FCRA to allow consumers to defend themselves against inaccuracies and discrepancies on a credit report so take advantage of that information and do everything you can to improve your credit report.
Max Wood (1)