Credit report repair is the name for the process of removing negative marks from your credit report. This article will look how you can go about doing this, and why you may wish to take steps to improve your credit score.
If you have almost any sort of credit-related problem, such as if you miss a mortgage or personal loan repayment or are filed for bankruptcy, your credit rating is likely to be adversely affected, and a negative mark will be made against your credit report.
Having black marks on your credit report can affect you in several ways. It will mean that you are far less likely to be approved for a financial product that carries out a credit search, and any items you are approved for will almost certainly bear a higher rate of interest, as you are regarded as a higher risk customer to the credit provider.
The good news is that there are ways in which you can go about credit report repair. There are many Internet-based companies that will offer to do this for you (for a fee), or you can go about it by yourself. The first step is to get an up to date copy of your credit report. The 'up to date' bit is vitally important, because an older copy will not show all of your current information, and may come from a time when you had a better credit rating.
It is possible to get hold of your credit report through a number of online companies, or by going directly to any one of the three national credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. The three bureaus provide a free service for this, and can be contacted by calling toll-free 1-877-322-8228.
The next step is to thoroughly analyze your credit report and check that all of the information is accurate. This should include personal information such as your full name, date of birth and address, as well as credit information such as the details and correct outstanding balances of personal loans, credit cards and other financial products that you currently own or have owned in the past.
Next up is to write a dispute letter to the relevant credit bureau. In this you should list any information that you believe to be incorrect, along with relevant documentation you have to back up your claims. An example could be sending copies of utility bills that contain your new address, when it is an old address that is listed on the credit report.
The credit bureau will then respond to you regarding whether they have amended, removed or not been able to change the negative marks that you detailed. If they have not been able to do anything about a certain piece of information, you can reply back, asking how and why they arrived at their decision. This is known as a 'method of verification'.
If a certain dispute relates to a creditor, both they and the credit bureau must provide you with proof to back up their claims. If they are unable to do this, they are required by law to remove the negative item from your credit report.
Although the process of credit report repair can be time consuming, sending letters back and forth to the credit bureaus, you will find that having the correct information on file will considerably improve your credit rating, and in turn, increase the chances of you being accepted for a credit product in the future.
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