Credit Repair and Your Free Credit Report
If you want to start getting loans or starting fresh on your credit, there are a few tricks that can help you on the path to credit repair. It’s important for you to strive for a good credit report if you currently have a negative credit report. There are plenty of professional credit repair services out there, but there are ways for you to repair your credit by simply following these easy steps.
Your first step is to get your free annual credit report. You can obtain this credit report from any of the three big credit bureaus, namely Equifax, Transunion, or Experian. Every year you are entitled to a free credit report which will give you the necessary information of what and how to fix your bad credit.
The second step to credit repair is to examine your credit report and looking for any errors that may show up on your report. Lookout for any outdated information, any typos, as well as any inaccurate information about you. Make a list of all the outdated information and send out a dispute to the credit report bureau. If the information on the credit report is true, and you truly have a negative report, then it’s just a matter of changing your bad spending and paying habits by simply paying for your bills on time.
When disputing errors, you will be required to fill out a dispute form which is provided to you with your free credit report. You may also simply write a letter to the credit bureau about the errors you found. Make sure you clearly identify where the errors are located and why these errors need to be fixed. To maintain that the information currently on the report is wrong, photocopy documents that prove otherwise. Always retain copies of the letters, completed forms, and other documents that are sent for your own records. Sometimes you might need to go directly to the creditors to fix some problems.
Your next step to credit repair is negotiating debt repayment. Request for your bill due dates to be more favorable to when you will be having your money each month. You might try to negotiate with creditors to be able to keep your current accounts but without them being recorded as being delinquent or having bad credit. It is also possible to negotiate a pay-off settlement which reduces your bills when it comes time to collecting. Demand that any negative comments on the account be removed from the credit report and have them reported as being paid in full. Have all your negotiations in written agreement before you issue a payment.
It’s important for you to gradually close credit accounts so that you have only between 2-4 credit cards left. Close out your newer credit card accounts first so that you don’t lose your longer credit history. Make sure your accounts are closed and reported as “closed by consumer”. Try to only offer yourself modest credit limits so that you don’t go overboard. Finally, steer clear of revolving balances and keep your revolving debt to 50% of your total.


