How to Fix Your Credit Score Yourself
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Credit Free Check
Credit Report
Get a current copy of your credit report from all three credit reporting agencies. The agencies are Experian, Transunion, and Equifax. The Fair Credit Reporting Act(FCRA) entitles you to get a free copy of your credit report if you have been denied credit in the past 60 days or if you have had a impacted negatively due to information obtained from one of the three credit agencies. Your state laws may also allow you to get a free credit report or pay a reduced rate to get a copy of your credit report once a year. Some states even allow you to get 2 copies of your credit report from each credit agency per year. To find out what your state laws are and request your free credit report go to www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228. You can also fill out the free annual credit report request form and mail it back to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281 - 2
Understanding Credit Report
Examine Your Credit Report
Read your credit report very carefully. You will need to do this for each credit agency credit report. Some credit accounts may show up on your Equifax credit report and not on your Transunion credit report. Read each report to make sure that all credit account information is accurate and to look for possible items for dispute. You may find typos, outdated credit account information, or incomplete information that has been reported by the creditor. - 3
Out of Credit Card Debt
Accentuate the Positive
Late payments, judgments, charge offs, and bankruptcies can impact your credit score for a very long time. Late payments and charge offs can stay on your credit report for seven years and bankruptcies can stay on your report for ten years! New creditors will be looking for consistency and patterns, so you can accentuate the positive to draw attention away from the negative by making current and future credit card payments on time and by working out agreements for any outstanding credit accounts. - 4
Debt Dispute
File Credit Dispute Report
File a credit dispute report for any unfamiliar, inaccurate, or fraudulent credit account that appears on your credit report. The inaccuracies could include things like, wrong name, wrong creditor, wrong date, wrong amount of debt report, charge offs, or other judgments that you are not aware of. You can file a dispute online or you can send a debt judgment credit dispute report to the creditor. You may also send the proper documentation to the credit agency to get an inaccurate debt report removed. If you have documentation that a credit account has been paid in full, but it is still showing up as unpaid, you simply send the proper documentation to the credit agency and the agency will remove the bad debt report. - 5
How to Fix Credit
Reduce Debt Amount
Begin a plan of action to reduce your overall credit account debt. Call creditors and negotiate with them. You may be able to get your interest reduced, monthly payments lowered, or simply changing the due date may help you to reduce and eliminate credit card debt. You can use the same strategies for fixed-loan payments too. - 6
Credit Rebuilding
Settle Accounts or Make Payment Arrangement
If you are having financial difficulties and cannot pay the large credit card payments, call the creditor and make arrangements to settle the account. A settlement is better than a charge off on your credit report. Once you pay the settlement amount, the creditor will report the credit account as "settled" to the credit bureaus and will not try to contact you or collect any more money. Be sure to get your agreement sent to you in writing, so you will have the proper documentation if you should ever need it. - 7
Debt Ratio Proportion
Close out Accounts that are Inactive or Unnecessary
Close out any accounts that are not currently in use. Also, you should choose account to close if you have a high number of credit card accounts. Your FICO score is calculated using a debt ratio formula. Numerous accounts that have credit limits maxed out can bring your FICO score down dramatically. Keep your debt ratio proportion in mind when you are trying to fix your credit score yourself. The experts recommend keeping your revolving credit accounts below 50% of available credit limit for best debt ratio proportion.
