When your credit is less than perfect and you know this, it can be overwhelming to begin the process of fixing it so you can increase that ever important FICO score.
What is even more alarming is if you have no idea what is on your credit report.
So, the first step is to order a copy of your credit report.
There are a number of free sources to do this, and there are now laws which provide for a free report on an annual basis.
You may or may not be aware, but there are currently 3 major credit bureaus in the United States who provide these reports for individual consumers: Trans Union Equifax Experian Each credit bureau likely will have different information listed than the other 2 bureaus.
This also means you will have 3 separate credit scores, one from each credit bureau.
Get a copy of your credit report from each of the 3 credit bureaus.
So now that you have done this, what do you do? Check each one for accuracy.
There are errors on so many credit reports; there have actually been research studies to determine how big an issue this is.
Suffice it to say there are many! So this leads us to come to our #1 tip to improve your credit score: Identify the errors on your reports and dispute them directly with EACH of the credit bureaus.
Do this for even the smallest errors, like an account is listed as closed and it is not.
Your credit score is made up of a complicated formula, but small changes can have a very large impact.
Do this 1 step and you will be heading in the right direction.