Credit Report Tips

Your Credit Report contains a historical record of your personaland financial Credit Report Tips

informationincluding a listing of your current and past debts and the timelinessof your payments. The information contained on your credit report islooked at by many people including lenders, credit card companies, landlords,telephone and cable companies just to name a few. These companies useyour credit report to evaluate your reliability and creditworthiness.

Knowing what is on your credit report can save you from unexpectedsurprises the next time you apply for a loan. Insuring the accuracyof your credit report is also very important. All too often people havefound errors on their credit report that were damaging their creditscore. Many times people have even been alerted to attempted identitytheft by keeping an eye on their credit report.

Last Updated - 10th November 2005

Here is what you can expect to see on your credit report. There arefour basic sections to the report which are broken down below:

Your personal information such as your name, social security number,date of birth, drivers license number, address and telephone number

Your credit history which contains a listing of all open and closedcredit lines including the original amount of the loan as well asthe current balance on the loan, the type of loan (credit card, departmentstore credit, mortgage etc.), the status of the loan whether it isactive or closed, and the timeliness of your payments

A public records listing that includes any tax liens foreclosures,bankruptcies or judgments filed

A listing of inquiries made on your credit report by potential lenderswho pull your credit report when considering issuing you a loan orcredit card.

If you do find errors on your credit report they can be disputed andcorrected. Be aware that this may take some time. That is why it isalways recommended to stay on top of things and know what is on yourcredit report. Being alert and informed will help insure that nothingsneaks its way on to your credit report.

Tips to Improve your Credit Rating

Set Goals -

Check your credit report every three months: The first stepto robust credit health is to know which bad financial habits,such as late payments, are present in your credit report. Regularcheck-ups will also help you guard against identity theft.
Improve your credit score 50 points or to above 650: A creditscore above 650 will help qualify you for most credit and loanterms. The higher your score, the better the interest rates availableto you.
Reduce your debt balances to below 35% of the available creditlimit: Reducing your balances while maintaining active credituse makes you more appealing to prospective lenders and can helpimprove your credit score.
Create a monthly budget and stick to it: This simple commitmentcan help you start a savings plan and will keep you from buildingup unmanageable debt.

Clean Up Your Records -

Dispute negative inaccuracies on your credit report: Don'tlet your credit standing suffer because of inaccurate information.
Remove expired debts and collection accounts: Most negativerecords expire from your credit report after 7-10 years. Theseaccounts have a significant negative effect on your credit rating,so make sure they are removed from your report at the right time.
Consider Refinancing: See if refinancing your home or car couldsave you money. Would it make sense to refinance your mortgage?Investigate your options with a lender.

Plan Ahead -

Start putting money into a savings account each month. No matterhow much available credit you have, it can't beat cash in thebank. Setting aside a fixed amount each month will guarantee interest-freefunds in the case of emergency while helping you develop financialdiscipline.
Contribute to your 401(k): See if your company offers matchingfunds and try to add the maximum amount allowable for your budget.
Guard against identity theft: To guard against this increasinglyprevalent crime, sign up for a credit monitoring service thatwill quickly alert you to any changes in your report.

Removing Negative Credit

To dispute a negative item on your credit file you need to firstidentify the negative items that you want removed.

Once you know which items to dispute, DO NOT complete the DisputeForms that the Credit Bureaus included with copies of your creditfile that they sent you.

Be sure to include a copy of your credit file and keep the originalfor your records. Highlight or underline the items you are disputing.Mail the dispute forms to the address listed on each credit file.

To dispute an inquiry, simply write that you never applied for creditwith that company.

Make a photocopy of your dispute letter for your records and besure to send it by Certified and Return Receipt Mail from your localPost Office. Mail your dispute form to the address provided with yourcredit file. Repeat the above process for each item that you wantremoved or changed.

After reviewing your updated credit file and finding that most orall the negative items have been removed, you may now focus on buildinga positive credit profile. Positive information will always outweigha few negative items that may remain on your file.

This technique is extremely effective in removing any negative informationthat was supposedly verified as correct after your dispute.

Important: Always remember that if the dispute is sent infrom anyone other than you, the Credit Bureau will suspect that youhave paid someone to repair your credit. This raises all sorts ofRed Flags. Since they make so many mistakes it is imperative thatthey believe you are working alone and trying to fix a real legitimatemistake.

If there is a negative item that you want removed from your credit,such as a bankruptcy, charge off or collection account, you may wantto write that this is NOT your account and you want it removed immediately.

If the account is now paid off, but was seriously past due at onetime, DO NOT write that it's not your account. Instead, write thatit is your account but was NEVER past due and you need it updatedto say that everything has always been current.

An Extremely Powerful Technique...

This auditing technique is usually only practiced by attorneys.It would be very expensive to hire attorneys to do this for you.However, by following the instructions you'll get similar resultsas any attorney (you just won't have to pay).
If the Credit Bureaus were able to verify any disputed informationas correct, it would remain on your credit file. So you'll needto contact the creditor who is reporting the information. Thecreditor who reported the item is listed on the left or bottomof your credit file. If their phone number is not provided, calldirectory assistance in their city and ask for the creditor'stelephone number. Call and ask them to mail you written proofand documentation that this is actually your account, since youdo not believe the account belongs to you.
Almost all creditors and collection agencies use computers tostore information about debtors and they throw out original, signedcontracts along with other original documents. This makes it easyfor creditors to store and organize information BUT makes it impossibleto actually prove the account is really yours and not just anothermistake.
Federal Law requires that upon your request, all creditors mustshow you written proof that the account in question is in factyours. Written proof is a copy of the contract you signed withthe original creditor. As we explained before, you are storedon the creditor's computer and chances are excellent that theyhave thrown out all the proof that this is your account.
The only creditors that may have proof are the courts (RecentBankruptcies, Unpaid Tax Liens, Unpaid Judgments & UnpaidChild Support).
Again, all Federal Laws are in your favor. If you say an accountis not yours and the creditor does not have written proof thatthe account belongs to you, they must remove the account fromyour credit file and cease all collection activity. If they don'thave written proof that the account is yours, there are two waysto get the item remove

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