How to Fix a Low Credit Report
Having a low credit score can affect your chances of obtaining additional credit to purchase major items, such as a house or a car. Past credit problems can also hinder you from attaining employment in certain fields. It's important to know what it is in your credit file so you can take the necessary steps to clean up and improve your overall credit. Cleaning up your credit is not an overnight process--it will take some effort on your part--but in the end, you will have accomplished something that will open doors that might have been closed to you.
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Instructions
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Obtain a copy of your credit report from all three credit bureaus. Through AnnualCreditReports.com, you are entitled to one free credit report from Experian, Equifax, and Transunion every year. You can access this site and fill in the needed information to request your free credit reports, which takes no more than 30 minutes.
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Examine your credit reports as you receive them from each bureau in the mail. Make sure to thoroughly go through each entry including your name and addresses listed to make sure they are accurate. Many times there is inaccurate information in your credit report that can adversely affect your overall credit score. Highlight any information that is inaccurate.
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Gather all notes and highlights of information that is inaccurate or simply not yours. You will need this in order to dispute the information. You can dispute the inaccuracies online or via the United States Postal Service. Each report will have an address and website to report errors.
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Note if you find any collection accounts on your credit report. These can be disputed with the credit bureau and with the collection agency directly; it is best to begin the dispute with the bureau itself. When you dispute information in your credit report, the credit bureau then has 30 days in which to verify the information. If the information cannot be verified, it must be deleted from your report.
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Observe very carefully the verifications and changes the credit bureaus make when you receive their report back in the mail. If they verify any collections account, then you will need to contact the collection agency directly. Their addresses will be on the credit report along with the account number.
Look carefully at the age of the collection account on your report. The older it is, the less impact it has on your overall credit score. Newer collection accounts are the ones that are the most damaging to your credit score.
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Contact all collection agencies on your credit report so that you can get the latest information on the account. Many times collection agencies will seek a settlement with you, especially if the case involves an older debt. If you are financially able to and you are offered a settlement, it is advantageous to accept the offer.
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Tips & Warnings
You can fix your credit yourself, but it will take time. Remember, credit reports are only updated once per month. So anything that is deleted this month will not show for 30 days or longer. With persistence, you can fix your credit and ultimately raise your score high enough to qualify for larger purchases in the future.
Be careful when searching the Internet for "Fixing Your Credit Report" there are a lot of services that will do exactly what was outlined here but will charge you a monthly fee.
