Posts Tagged ‘Credit History’
When it comes to getting a mortgage loan, it is important to understand that lenders consider more than just your income when determining whether or not they will give you the loan you are requesting. While there have always been other factors used when making this determination, the factors that are taken into consideration have grown even more stringent due to the current state of economy. Therefore, it is best for you to have a greater understanding of what lenders are looking for before you apply for a mortgage loan. This way, you will have the best chance of getting the mortgage loan you are after when it comes time to apply.
A Change in the Way of Thinking
Every business whether big or small, depends upon the intensity of the origin of good credit history to win the goodwill of the lender and for further forthcoming deals. A business person can be sure and secured by obtaining the financial support whenever he is required with out any hassle by having the good business scores. It is quite difficult for any company or agencies to make an instant good credit history. To have a solid credit history both time and efforts are important in order to build it. One thing can be very useful for the business holder to collect the Free Business Credit Report and ensure his credit history in advance as it is very supportive to them to decide where to spend or not.
If you are trying to avoid a bad credit rating, one of the most important preventive steps you can take is to request and analyze your credit report. Credit reports summarize your credit history usually for the last seven years and are usually detailed with information about active credit cards you have, mortgages, and any other loans you have outstanding. Depending on the credit information that the credit bureau receives will determine your credit score
There are three large credit bureaus that compile lending information and calculate a score for each individual. The three credit bureau companies are Experian, Expedia and Trans Union. If you want to improve your credit rating or make sure credit score is accurate, it is important that you request a credit report from either one credit bureau or all three of them each year.
If you want to get rid of negative credit you can easily take a few steps to completely turn it around and see a significant improvement in your credit score. Thousands of people face the same problems and assume it takes a credit professional or credit repair service to do it for them. These offline and online credit services don’t come cheap and often people spend their hard-earned money trying to fix negative or bad credit.
First of all you may not know what is actually on your credit report today. You may assume you have bad credit based on your payment history in the past or you haven’t had the courage to get a copy of your credit report even though it’s free. Many resist this because of the fear of what they think they may find. However you may be surprised. There may be entries on your credit report that are totally false and can be easily corrected or there may be entries you can easily change with a little documentation.
Really it’s not that difficult to get these corrections taken care of on your credit report. You can actually take care of it pretty fast and it won’t cost you a dime other than a first class stamp. In actuality you can do a better job than any credit repair clinic because you’re in the position to actually add some positive credit marks to your report if you know how to do it and I’ll explain below.
Okay these are the 3 simple steps to repair your credit history.
1. First get a copy of your free credit report if you don’t already have a CURRENT copy. Everyone is entitled to a free credit report every year according to federal government laws. You can get an absolutely free annual credit report online instantly at the approved Web site: type in ‘annualcreditreport’ and then a dot and then com. You’ll be able to print it out as soon as you provide identification.
You can also call 1-877-322-8228. When you call you’ll get an automated service. Know what phone number you’re going to use as that is a requirement in the process. However it will take about 15 days to get the report. You can also write but instant online or calling is easiest. This free service is sponsored by the three credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Now you must know that you won’t get your credit rating or score when you get the report. There is an additional charge to get a score. However if you recently applied for credit and were turned down, call the lender and ask what your score is. You can usually find out that way for free.
Once you have your credit report in hand, sit down and note any negative items or anything that doesn’t seem right to you. You may find a few mistakes, sometimes even with your birth date or other personal information. These are easily corrected. There can be some totally false information such as credit information for someone else with the same name or similar name.
2. Write a dispute letter. It’s easy to write a dispute letter. If you’re not sure how to do this, sit down and pretend you’re writing a letter to a friend. It does not have to be fancy and it can be in your own handwriting if legible or typed out. Don’t make it too hard. Make a list of the bad credit marks or wrong information that you want to dispute. Make sure to keep it as short as possible and don’t add any fluff. Get the facts as you know them. If you have any documentation to include to ‘back you up’ then add this or include copies with your dispute letter.
When the credit bureau gets your letter they will do an investigation and will either verify the item in question and remove or fix it – or they will be unable to verify the negative credit information to remove it.
If they notify you that they are unable to verify any negative credit mark thus not removing it, then you can still dispute it by sending another letter asking how they arrived at their decision. This is called a ‘method of verification’ or sometimes ‘procedural request’. If the dispute is regarding a creditor the credit reporting bureau and the creditor must both provide you with adequate proof of their decision. Otherwise they are required by law to remove the negative credit mark from your credit history.
3. How to get positive credit marks on your credit report. This is simple to do over a period of a few months to start building a positive credit history. Get department store and/or gas credit cards and use them. Pay them off on time. Make note that these usually come with higher interest rates so compare rates first. Pay a little more than you owe and pay a little early. Paying online ensures that your payment arrives and is not lost in the mail.
Keep a bill calendar and write on it when payments are due and another notation on the calendar a few days before so that you make the payment online early. If you wait till the last minute, the Web site may be down for maintenance or their may be other network issues. But in any event make sure to make the payment before it’s due. Try to get an installment type of loan or automobile loan through your bank or credit union.
Be aware that if you try to buy a car or other vehicle that the car dealer will contact several lenders to get the best interest rate and EACH one of these will contribute a mark to your credit report. This can affect your credit score, also called FICO. So try to get a pre-approved loan before you head to an auto dealer. If you can do this over a few months you will build up a recent and good credit history fast. No credit repair service will be able to build up this positive history for you.
For additional help removing or erasing negative credit you can easily get a good credit repair guide that will help you read and dispute the report and will cost pennies as opposed to a credit repair service which can cost you significantly. And a service can’t do it as well as you can or add positive credit marks to your credit history. Sit down now if you already have the credit report right and do a quick letter before you start dwelling on it. You can do it! And YOU can do the best job. The faster you take action the sooner you’ll see a turnaround.
The importance of getting your free credit report cannot be overemphasized. In the current economic climate, with such a strong squeeze on credit, everybody’s credit rating is at risk, and even if you think you have a premium credit score, you might be in for an unpleasant shock. People are getting such shocks not only daily, but hourly throughout the USA.
However, before we discuss that, let’s have a look at what a credit report is and what information it gives you. It contains four parts basically: your personal details, your credit history, public records appertaining to your financial stability and finally, inquiries made by third parties as to your credit record. While you might not understand the need for this information, they are carefully examined by potential lenders.
To put it in general terms, your credit report is a record of your credit history and your financial stability. It contains financial details such as mortgages, loans, mail order agreements, credit cards, banking facilities and so on, and includes your repayment history, any late payments, missed payments, defaults and so on. It also includes any details of credit or loan applications you have made, and whether any have been turned down.
If your credit report is bad, you will either not be offered credit or will have to pay a higher interest rate than those with a good credit report. In some cases you will be refused credit. Hence the importance of knowing what your credit record is like. The same is true of your credit score that lenders use to assess your credit-worthiness.
The implications of a bad credit report include you being refused a credit card application, a loan, a mortgage, a car loan and any other form of credit. You could even be refused a mail order agreement or even a car hire. That is not the end of it, because the same could apply to your partner and your children if they reside at the same address as you. When your kids look for a mortgage of their own before being married, or seek a loan for their first car, they could be refused because of your poor credit record.
That is fine if the record is correct, because although it is bad for you, at least it will have been deserved. However, it has been estimated that up to 90% of credit records are inaccurate, and that a large proportion of people are being wrongly refused credit. Not an entire 90%, obviously, but a lot of people are being unfairly refused credit, and that could be you or your kids. You won’t know till you apply.
Why wait till then? Why not just get a credit report now, so that you know where you stand. It makes sense, and since it is free what are you waiting for? Did you know that anybody can see your credit report? In the USA, the Fair credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows employers, creditors, landlords, insurers and any other business to have access to your credit report for purposes of credit, renting a home, employment or any other reason where your financial situation could be of interest.
These reports are available in the USA from three agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and each has to provide you with a free copy of your credit report annually on request. Once you have a bad record on your report you have to wait 7 years to have it removed.
However, there are companies that help you to check up on your report and have any inaccurate data removed. You could easily have your next credit request refused due to inaccurate or false information. Identity theft or even mistaken identity is no longer uncommon. Nor is it uncommon for office staff to make typing errors and you to have something on your credit record that never occurred.
In today’s economic climate your credit is the one thing you must do all that you can to protect, so make sure you implement your right to a free credit report. There are companies that can get your free report from all three agencies, and then check it with you to make sure that nothing is untoward. With 90% containing inaccurate information, that might be highly likely. If so they can help you to get these false records removed.
It’s your credit, and it affects everybody living in your home. Get it checked out now with a free triple credit report. Also check up on your credit score at the same time.
Thanks to a new federal law put into place in September of 2005, everyone is entitled to one free credit report each year. This is so that you can verify that your report does not contain any false information, and so you can see how your credit rates. Getting your annual free report is as easy as going to the authorized source, www.annualcreditreport.com and requesting one.
Once you have your free report, what in the world do all those abbreviations, numbers and codes mean?! The most widely used system for scoring is the FICO score, developed by The Fair Isaac Corporation, and the number determines the risk to extend credit to an individual. Credit reports are usually divided into sections; identifying information, public records, credit history, and inquiries to your credit report from creditors looking to extend you credit based on your credit score.
The identifying information includes your name, address, and social security number. Make sure they are all correct. Usually this section will also include a list of your previous addresses, your date of birth, phone number, spouse’s name, employers information.
The public records section is the section you hope has no information. This is where a bankruptcy or judgment would show up on your report, and it will harm your rating more than anything else on the report, and take longer to repair.
The credit history section is the most confusing. It will list every creditor you’ve ever had business with, including accounts that have been closed and those that remain open with no balances, and accounts that you are currently making payments on. Depending on which credit reporting agency you get your report from, this section will actually be displayed differently on each report. Experian’s report displays it in “english”, and states everything in common sense terms, like “pays on time”, “pays 30 days late”, etc. Reports from other agencies might use numerical codes in a table that you have to refer to another page to find out what each code means. Either way, make sure you agree with each creditors reporting of you since this is how your score is determined. If you have accounts that you don’t have the credit cards for anymore, or a loan that has been paid off but remains on your report as a revolving credit (money available to you as you pay it down), call and write each company to ask them to close the account completely and report that to the credit agencies. Otherwise, it appears that you have all of that money available to you, and that goes against your debt to income ratio.
The section called “inquiries”, and it includes a list of everyone who has ever looked at your report. This will include credit companies you’ve contacted to request a credit card or loan, but it will also include what is considered “soft” inquiries. Soft inquiries are any promotional offers, such as a retail store checking into your credit history to determine whether or not to mail you an offer for their credit card. Soft inquiries do not harm your overall credit score.
You can also get a copy of a credit report any time you’ve been denied credit. This is because there is always the possibility that there are errors in your report, which prevented you from obtaining the credit you applied for. Regardless of how you get your report, take the time to look it over and find any discrepancies (immediately call the creditors in question and straighten it out) and close out any accounts that you no longer use but are showing open and available to you on your credit report. Having your report will show you where you stand if you’re considering going for a mortgage, new vehicle, or other loan.
Today having good credit reflected in your credit report is important in every financial situation you find yourself in as you probably know and knowing a few tips about credit repair can solve a lot of your credit problems. In our world credit determines just how much interest you’ll end up paying on your house, car, truck, etc.
Your credit scores, called FICO, are used by your landlords, your employers and the insurance companies to determine whether you can get an apartment and/or job and even what your insurance rates will be. Yes your insurance agent will make use of your credit information. Your credit report and score will indicate whether you have good credit or bad credit and whether you have to pay a deposit for a cell phone.
Assuming you already have a copy of your credit report, here are a few of the best credit repair tips if you’re having credit problems. If you don’t have a copy you can easily get a free credit report online. You won’t be able to get the score along with the free report though. There are other ways to get your FICO score that you would have to pay for but there are ways to get your score for free.
1. Get a copy of the ‘Fair Credit Reporting Act’ from the federal government. It may sound boring but you don’t have to read the entire legal portion, just understand the basics of the Act. You’ll be well-armed if you plan to fix your credit report. But it’s very important that you get it and read it. It won’t take long.
2. Did you know that any information on your credit report can be disputed? That includes any personal information – public records, any accounts you have of course, even any inquiries. You can dispute anything.
3. Consider credit repair to be a gradual process. Look over the information, your credit card accounts and other accounts. Let’s say you have 15 accounts that you’d like to dispute. Pick just 3 or 4 or so to dispute. Otherwise if you dispute them all at one time the credit bureau or credit reporting agency will not consider your requests seriously.
4. You want to keep your letters of dispute on the simple side. You don’t need to go into the laws, procedures any court rulings or even threaten them with lawsuits if they don’t fix your credit report. Just make it simple.
Just dispute the accounts you have decided to start with – those that need to be removed, updated or changed. Now if your letter is too confusing, there is a good chance it will get tossed. You don’t need to go into any personal tales. Just keep it simple and short.
5. Lastly the ‘procedural request’ – asking for the method of verification. If you get some accounts deleted that’s good. But for those that came back “verified” you can ask for a ‘procedural request.’ The credit reporting agencies and credit bureaus are obligated by law to provide you with the exact method your creditors used to verify the information that they are reporting to the agency on your credit report. Requesting this information, forces the credit bureau to provide you with the information they received from your creditor as valid proof.
The creditor needs to have proof of why if they replied to your dispute stating that your account should remain on your credit report. The creditor rarely ever provides the credit reporting agency or credit bureau with this information. So, by doing this you’re putting pressure on them to prove it. Otherwise they will have to remove it.
Make sure to keep records of everything the bureaus and your creditors send to you in case you find some day that you have to sue them for violating your federal rights. If you follow these credit repair tips you should be well on your way to fixing your credit for good!
Assuming you already have a copy of your annual credit report you may have already found some errors that should be removed. Errors should always be a big concern because they can and probably have affected your credit score, also called a FICO. You can repair your credit with a little bit of help.
It may seem like a lot of work but it’s really easy. The hardest part is actually sitting down to do it. You’ll need to check all three credit bureaus to make sure the same error isn’t on all three but if you just have one credit report, start with that one.
First make a list of any and all errors that you find on your personal credit report. These could be in the form of personal information such as birth date or more likely there will be information that you know not to be true such as late payments or no payments recorded etc. If you think there is any possibility that you could be wrong check your past history with the creditor in question first.
You want to make sure you are right before you make the request to have any information removed from your credit report.
You will be sending the letter only to the credit bureau mentioned on the report, which would be Esperian, Equifax or TransUnion. You don’t want to sound angry in the letter, just be matter-of-fact, straightforward and business-like. Just outline the facts – name of creditor, dates, and the error(s) or problem(s) you’re finding on the credit report.
Here is a sample letter:
Date:
To whom it may concern at Esperian (or other credit bureau):
I recently acquired a copy of my credit report and found some errors that I’d like to dispute. I am enclosing documentation to prove the information is incorrect and would like a correction. I value my good standing and good credit history and want to maintain a good credit rating and credit score.
Name the creditor along with the reference date including the month, day and year if possible.
The error(s) I have found are:
I’m including copies of my payment record, with a (cancelled check or online payment print-outs or any other documentation that you have).
I would appreciate any attention to the matter as I would like my credit report to be accurate. I’m sure you understand that credit bureaus need to include only information that is accurate in my file.
Thank you for taking a look at my letter and file and hopefully making the necessary corrections so I can continue to maintain my good credit standing. Please let me know that my file has been reviewed and what action has been taken. I would also like a copy of my corrected credit report sent to the enclosed address. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Besides your full name as shown on the report, include you mailing address, a copy of the report that you have, your social security number, driver’s license photocopy and any other documentation such as a cancelled check or online payment confirmations.
Make a copy of the letter for yourself and a copy of any enclosures with the letter. Send the dispute letter by certified mail with a ‘return receipt’ requested. Then make sure to get the free credit reports from the other two main credit bureaus or reporting agencies to make sure they don’t have the same incorrect information. You can get free instant credit reports from the other two online.
There are many companies out there advertising their services and claiming they can remove negative information from your credit report immediately without efforts or sacrifices on your part. Are these claims true in any way? Is it possible to clear your credit history and get a good credit tag just by paying for their services? Learn the truth about credit repair companies.
There is a huge difference between companies who claim that they can remove accurate information from your credit report immediately and those who say that they can help you remove inaccurate information from your credit history right away and can teach you to clear your credit report with patience and a bit of sacrifice.
Be Careful With Illegitimate Credit Repair Services
Is my credit report reporting my information?
Have you ever looked at your credit report and wondered what some of the information or accounts were that is being reported to your credit report? Things like previous addresses, employers and even accounts that you know you never had can appear on your credit report. Sometimes this is simply a mistake and information was merged into your social security number but it also may be as serious as identity theft.
What to do with that information? First, you should try to determine if the information is completely inaccurate or is it just information that may have been reported incorrectly. For example, the street name on a previous address is inaccurate but is similar to a previous address. Someone may have just typed in the wrong information that was reported to the credit bureau. But if you see an address in a completely different state that you never have lived at, then you might have been a victim of identity theft.