Home Homeowner's Corner Mentor's Corner Articles Links Credit Repair Is Your Responsibility
Don't be denied credit that you deserve. Estimates for the possibility of you having errors and other unverifiable information on your credit report run as high as 80%. This means that most Americans have a credit score lower than it should be. In times of tight credit, chances are high that you will be denied credit because of this erroneous score. Only you can take the steps to repair your credit. The credit reporting and rating bureaus are not run by any agency of the Federal government. They are for-profit organizations that collect information about you and your accounts and then make money providing a “whole picture” of your credit and debt history plus a credit score. To make matters worse, the information received by the credit bureaus from your creditors is largely automated. And the reports generated from that information is automated. That means there is no assurance that the credit reporting bureaus have the correct information, and there's no assurance that the credit bureaus' compiled report and score is accurate. No one is checking for errors. Except you. The Fair Credit Reporting Act and other consumer protection legislation gives you the RIGHT to correct errors and bad information—and you don't have to wait 7 years in order to clean it up even if you really do have bad credit. Even after 7 years, unless you act, your credit scores and reports may not positively and accurately reflect your present credit status. You have to be proactive and initiate the repair of your credit reports. Only your active participation will make your credit reports and scores the best they can be. The sooner you get started, the better it will be for you and your family. And the sooner you'll have an advantage over those others who haven't taken action. Some repairs are an easy fix. I will never forget the client I had who called the credit reporting bureau on his cell phone while he was signing loan documents to refinance his home. He noticed a car loan listed on his loan application that wasn't his. His quick call resolved the issue while he was signing the documents! While it did not affect his refinance in his case, his quick action assured a more accurate report in the future. There are a number of fixes that aren't as easy as the case above. However, you can still look into repairing your credit yourself if you want to. Three sources that give good advice are: Credit Secrets : Of the three, this one is the most complete. It will give you a good overview of debt in general, and what to do about it, not just guide you on how to clean up your credit reports.You can get it now at Credit Secrets Bible. Clean Credit Guide : A true do it yourself guide that will help you plan your approach in cleaning up credit reports, and goes into some detail about how to improve credit ratings. It is Clean Credit Credit Repair Membership: This is a membership that offers self help strategies for credit repair and debt consolidation. It offers lifetime access for a one-time fee of $39.95, and is available HERE. Hire Firms to Repair Your Credit: You can also hire firms to do it for you. Be wary of any firm that advertises "results guaranteed." You are looking for a group that is very professional, been in business for a decade or longer, and has a good reputation. I suggest you begin your search HERE. Of course, you need to get a copy of your credit reports and scores. You need to get them from Equifax, Experian, and Trans-Union. In my opinion the best place to get them is FICO Credit Complete. And yes! Pay the $47 or $48 and get all three reports. Don't fall prey to free reports. Sometimes they will give you a report without the score, and you have to pay for the score or scores, while some free credit reports are just leads to get you to subscribe to monthly reports. Unless you want that kind of advertisement filling up our email, go with FICO Credit Complete !
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