Want To Clean Up Your Bad Credit? Here's The Correct Way To Do
It...
Most people think that if they have bad credit that there is
nothing they can do about it, and that they have to live with
it. But this is not true. You can change and correct your credit
report for the better.
Every time you apply for credit, your credit report will be
checked. Lenders rely on your credit report to determine your
reputation for credit worthiness.
Credit bureaus collect and maintain information on credit users.
They receive your personal information through the same lenders
who grant you credit. They simply collect, from lenders with
whom you have credit, information on you and then sell it to
inquiring creditors. The information is sold in the form of
credit reports and it contains an evaluatory mark of positive,
negative, or neutral.
Your credit report contains information about you, your job, and
a history of your experience with lenders.
The law says that you have the right to know what is in your
credit file. You should want to learn what is being distributed
about you by credit bureaus.
Order a copy of your credit report. If you have been denied
credit because of the information contained in your credit
report you can get a copy of your report for free if you contact
the credit bureau within 60 days of receiving a denial notice.
If not, the credit bureau may charge you a small fee.
Once you get your report, review it to see whether all
information is accurate and complete. Examine each entry. Look
for information that does not belong to you so that you can have
it corrected. Make sure you do not overlook any errors. Be sure
that all accounts listed are in fact your own.
Mistakes occur at the credit bureaus. Information belonging to a
different person can be mixed with your credit information. If
the information is negative, this will impact your credit
worthiness.
If there is derogatory information in the report, you have the
right to dispute that information. You should contact the credit
bureau and explain why you think the information is not correct.
Include copies of any documentation that supports your claim and
send it by certified mail with a return receipt so you know it
was delivered with everything you sent.
The credit bureau must reinvestigate the items in question
within the allotted time. If a disputed item cannot be verified,
the credit bureau must delete it.
When the investigation is complete, the credit bureau must give
you the written results. If you disagree with the results of the
reinvestigation, you have the right to add a statement to your
credit bureau file in 100 words or less, explaining your version
of the dispute.
Also, you have the right to request that a corrected report
reflecting these changes be sent to all creditors who have
checked your credit report within the past six months. You can
have corrected copy of your report sent to anyone who checked
your report during the past two years for employment purposes.
Now you have the information you need to start cleaning up your
bad credit. The rest is up to you. If you truly want to get rid
of bad credit and get your life back together, you must take
action.