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.
