Repairing Your Credit Score and Clearing Derogatory Marks on Your Credit Report


Raising your credit score can be a fairly simple and straightforward process unless you have derogatory marks that need to be disputed (which will be explained below).

The reasons for bad credit can be as follows, high balances, bankruptcies, late payments, and many others. The most significant thing you can do to raise your score is to change your financial habits. Chances are that if you have a bad credit score, you did something to make it that way. Here are some of the best ways to quickly raise your credit score:

1. The most obvious: pay off your debt! This doesn't include a home mortgage, but revolving balances such as credit card debt, a car loan, etc.

2. Make every payment on time. This is the most important factor in your credit score rating. If you have had late payments in the past, it will take some time to see real results from your on-time payments, but keep it up, sooner or later the credit bureau will notice the change in your payment habits. Develop the mentality that no late payment is acceptable!

3. If possible, pay over your minimum amount. This is especially important with credit card balances, and will reflect a slight boost in your score.

4. If you have paid off all your debt, and your credit score seems to be at a stand still, you might want to make small purchases each month with your credit card and pay them off immediately. Often times the credit bureaus like to see at least some kind of activity. Otherwise, they have no way to gauge how you are doing financially.

5. Be patient! Sometimes repairing credit can be a long and arduous process. Especially if you have had a bankruptcy. It can often take the better part of a year or more to see any significant raises in your score.

Clearing a derogatory mark on your credit report:

This is probably the most difficult in regards to credit repair. If you have requested a copy of your credit report, and notice a problem (an example would be a late payment mark), that shouldn't be there, you need to take action to get the derogatory mark cleared as soon as possible. It is extremely important to get your credit score cleared before you attempt to get prequalified for mortgage.

Here are the steps you should take:

First of all, if you are in contact with a loan officer, you may want to describe the problem you are having to them. They can be very helpful when it comes to credit repair, and should know exactly what to do if you have a bad mark on your credit that is a mistake. In some cases, they may even call the creditor for you to address the situation.

Second, you should call your creditor and each credit bureau to find out which course of action you should take. In most cases, writing a letter will do. Here is an example letter:

Date 00/00/00

Dear Big Credit Bureau,

This letter is a complaint that you are reporting inaccurate and/or incomplete credit information on my credit report. I am displeased that you have included the below information in my credit profile that includes the following errors. Credit reporting laws ensure that bureaus report 100% accurate credit information.

The following information concerning my credit report needs to be re-investigated. I respectfully request to be provided proof of this alleged item on my credit report. If this cannot be provided, the item must be deleted from my report as soon as possible:

CREDITOR AGENCY, acct. 123-34567-ABC

The listed item is inaccurate and/or incomplete, and is a serious error in reporting. Please delete this information, and supply a corrected credit profile to all creditors who have received a copy within the last 6 months, or the last 2 years for employment purposes. Also, please provide the name, address, and telephone number of each credit grantor or other subscriber.

Under federal law, you have 30 days to complete your re- investigation. Be advised that the description of the procedure used to determine the accuracy and completeness of the information is hereby requested as well, to be provided within 15 days of the completion of your re-investigation.

Sincerely,
your signature

Your Name
SSN# 123-45-6789

Unfortunately, you will need to write 3 separate letters to each of the 3 major credit bureaus. Here are the contact addresses for each:

Trans Union
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
1-800-888-4213

Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
1-800-997-2493

Experian
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013-2104
1-888-397-3742

Justin is the President of the Christian Real Estate Network - http://www.HisMove.com


MORE RESOURCES:

GM, Chrysler, credit unions expand loan programs
Forbes, NY - 9 hours ago
AP , 01.07.09, 03:29 PM EST General Motors and Chrysler say they're both expanding deals that offer low-cost loans and special pricing incentives to credit ...
GM, Chrysler, credit unions expand loan programs The Associated Press
GM, Chrysler, credit unions expand low rate plan nationwide DetNews.com
GM To Expand Credit Union Discounts Nationwide CNNMoney.com
WWJ - Automotive News
all 125 news articles


ABC News

Stimulus Plan Would Expand Tax Credit for Poor
Wall Street Journal - 2 hours ago
The plan would grant an estimated 5.5 million poor children access to the credit for the first time, and expand the tax benefit for millions more poor ...
Video: Obama to Bring Accountability to Spending Plan AssociatedPress
Is There A Citigroup Tax Credit Hidden in the Stimulus Plan? The Washington Independent
Lawmakers and Financial Experts Question Obama's Tax Cuts Washington Post
Media Matters for America - Huffington Post
all 6,904 news articles


Javno.hr

Loan Delinquencies Hit Record High Last Year
Washington Post, United States - 1 hour ago
By Nancy Trejos Delinquencies on auto loans and home equity lines of credit reached their highest levels on record during the third quarter of 2008, ...
US Lenders Pay As Idled Borrowers Don't Forbes
Delinquent consumer loans rise to near record Minneapolis Star Tribune
HELOC, Car Loan Delinquencies At Record Highs U.S. News & World Report
USA Today - Reuters
all 47 news articles


S&P Lowers Credit Ratings on PNC
Wall Street Journal - 7 hours ago
By JOHN KELL Standard & Poor's Ratings Service lowered its credit ratings on PNC Financial Services Group Inc. because of concerns about the size of its ...
Market Report -- In Play (PNC) MSN Money
all 14 news articles


CBS News

Working Triage In The Credit Crisis
CBS News, NY - 6 hours ago
(CBS) The recession gets the credit for lower oil prices - and for more Americans falling behind on their loan payments. A new report says that, ...
Simpler Credit Card Statements On The Way MSNBC
6 new rules of credit card negotiations CreditCards.com
all 16 news articles


US consumer credit worsens in December: Fitch
Reuters - 12 hours ago
NEW YORK, Jan 7 (Reuters) - US consumer credit deteriorated in December as credit card defaults rose and cardholder payment rates suffered the largest one ...
Credit card defaults rise again in December Forbes
Credit-Card Charge Offs Jump Wall Street Journal Blogs
Fitch: US Credit Card Defaults Rise, Payments Slow as Consumers ... Earthtimes (press release)
all 16 news articles


Swap Spread Shows ‘Healing’ of Credit Markets: Chart of Day
Bloomberg - 4 hours ago
8 (Bloomberg) -- Interest-rate derivatives are signaling credit markets are returning to levels not seen in a year as the Federal Reserve keeps its target ...


The Associated Press

Car dealerships slash prices to drive traffic
The Associated Press - 6 hours ago
"If you have (credit score of) 700 and above you don't have a problem getting a loan. We're seeing some great opportunities for people with excellent credit ...
Good deals for car buyers, but getting a loan harder Fox 28
all 76 news articles


Free Credit Repair Guide Offers Hope for Homeowners
MSNBC - 10 hours ago
LOS ANGELES, CA - With the current state of the economy it's becoming increasingly difficult to qualify for a loan -- even if you have perfect credit. ...


CTV.ca

Russia's Gas War Gets Credit-Crunched
Wall Street Journal - 7 hours ago
In the credit-crunch era Ukraine cannot afford this game, and increasingly neither can Gazprom. There is a deal that can be done to ensure safe passage of ...
Video: Ukraine leaves Europe without gas Gazprom RussiaToday
Hungary, Slovakia Most at Risk as Gas Halt Hinders Industry Bloomberg
No immediate Ukraine gas row rating impact-Fitch guardian.co.uk
Irish Times - Bloomberg
all 5,545 news articles

Credit - Google News

home | site map
© myfinancialsolutiononline.com 2007