How to Repair Credit Report and Improve Credit Score
With the economic situation the way it is and home values down, many people have found that their once perfect credit is now tainted with late fees, over limit fees, closed accounts, and in the worse situations credit cards and loans that can no longer be paid, along with possibly bankruptcy or even foreclosure. However, with all these negative marks on their credit, credit scores are now even more important than before and banks, car dealerships, mortgage companies, and credit card companies are making getting loans and credit even harder than before. Not to mention that jobs, insurance companies, and a slew of other companies are also pulling credit reports now before approving applications or even offering jobs. In the dire straight of the economy the need to repair credit report has become even more imperative than before. Even if you plan to never own a credit card again or always pay in cash, fixing the credit you have is still important and if you can should be done.
Some basic steps to fix your credit to improve credit score are:
Get all your credit reports, from all three agencies, which are Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax Make sure all the information on the reports are correct Fix any and all information that is incorrect, misspelled, or wrong in any way Have any incorrect accounts or information removed immediately Contact the credit bureaus by filling out the appeal form they offer and by phone when necessary Contact all banks and credit card companies to see about negotiating terms to lower your interest rate, payment amount, and to remove all late fees and over limit fees Cancel almost all your credit cars, keep one or two for emergencies, but cancel the rest Close all loan accounts, even if they are not paid yet, close them now as you pay them off If the banks or credit card companies will not work with you, contact a credit repair agency to negotiate terms for you Make sure to make all payments on time from there on out Do not open any new accounts or apply for any additional loans, the extra hits on your credit will lower your score further, especially if you are denied
Credit report repair usually takes time. It will not happen overnight. It will take a lot of patience and due diligence to improve credit score. Making payments on time every month and correcting your credit reports will make the biggest difference. Also, again do not apply for more credit. Every hit on your credit report lowers your credit score even further. Remembering that it will take time and not to become frustrated or give up. Following these simple steps to repair credit report will pay off over time. After a year or two you will see definite improvements on your credit reports and probably in your business relations as well. It is never a hopeless situation, no matter how bad your credit report looks, it can be repaired. Information does fall off after a few years and you can get your credit back on track and in good standing again.
Mark is the author of “Crushing The Credit Bureaus” a do it yourself credit repair encyclopedia that focuses on repairing negative information on your credit report to help improve credit score. Fix your credit at http://crushingthecreditbureaus.com now.
