Repairing your credit

A good credit score opens up the door to many financial opportunities. From a new car, house, or even more spending power, it’s crucial to put in the effort to ensure your credit stays healthy. However, mistakes happen, some without fault. So, you need to understand what these are and fix them, even if you had nothing to do with them! This is where credit repair comes in and offers one avenue to securing a more stable financial future.

But, credit repair takes time and you may not see a boost in credit score overnight. So, it’s important to be vigilant and keep your credit history in good standing in order to see positive long-term effects. With discipline and effort, you can fix your credit and see where a good score can take you. If you need help repairing your credit and don’t know where to start, let Credit.com show you the way. Here, we discuss how to repair your credit, what to look for, and the tools you may need to make sure everything goes well

How can I repair my credit?

Before you start repairing your credit, you should know what brings your score up or down. Your credit score is made up of many different factors, and it’s affected by things such as collections accounts and late payments. And credit repair involves fixing these kinds of marks that are negatively affecting your credit.

Before you get started, you need to look at your credit reports to see exactly what’s bringing your scores down and what doesn’t belong to you. Here’s how to do get started.

Getting your credit reports

To get a comprehensive view of your credit and what exactly you need to fix, you need access to your credit reports. The Fair Credit Reporting Act states you’re entitled to one free credit report per year from all three credit bureaus. You can request these at AnnualCreditReport.com. Because of the pandemic, you can get these reports weekly for a limited time. With these reports, you can see where your credit is faltering, and get a better understanding of what needs to be done.

Look for mistakes in your credit report

Now that you have your credit reports, the first thing to do is verify that all of your personal information, accounts, payment history, and any other information reported by lenders is correct. In a credit report, you normally can see your personal information, accounts and their status, hard and soft credit inquiries, any collections, repossessions, foreclosures, or bankruptcies, if applicable. So, with all that in mind, make sure you can correctly attribute all this information as accurate. If not, then you may need to file disputes to challenge the inaccurate information.

Disputing errors in your credit report

Considering lenders are required to respond to credit disputes, now is a good time to take control of your credit and clear it of any mistakes. To file a formal dispute with the credit bureaus or credit issuers, it’s important to have all relevant information. Then, it’s as simple as sending a formal letter that states you believe there is an error on your credit report and that the reporting agency should verify its accuracy. This letter should state which errors you’d like to dispute and whether you’d like them removed or corrected, as well as a copy of your credit report with the mistakes highlighted. The letter should also be supported by copies of any records or documents that support the claim the information is inaccurate or if its date goes beyond the statute of limitations, another reason to file disputes.

If the agency is unable to verify the claim presented, the respective bureau has to remove or correct the error(s). Here is the contact information for each lender so you can start your dispute process as soon as possible:

Equifax
Equifax Information Services LLC
PO Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30348
866-349-5191

Experian
Experian
PO Box 4500
Allen, TX 75013
888-397-3742

TransUnion
TransUnion LLC
Consumer Dispute Center
PO Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016
800-916-8800

Disputing errors with lenders

With disputes, you should always start with the lender itself, in addition to the bureaus. The process is similar to reporting to the bureaus, in which you want to send all pertinent information of the mistake in question, as well as a formal letter asking them to verify the account, remove it, or fix incorrect information. Make sure to do this as quickly as possible, to ensure the information is corrected before it does more damage to your credit.

Debt management apps

When you’re handling a mountain of debt, you may need tools to help yaou get everything organized and ensure you’re managing your debt accordingly and responsibly. A debt management app can help alleviate the stress of combing through all your debt, and input it all into one place: your phone!

Start repairing your credit today

Credit repair is not easy. There are a lot of moving parts that go beyond what many can handle. But, with the right resources and tools at your disposal, you can work to fix your credit and make your financial dreams happen faster than you ever thought possible.

Need professional help repairing your credit?

With credit repair, the sooner you get started, the better. Sometimes, this means enlisting the help of the pros in credit repair. These services can send dispute letters on your behalf, analyze the best way to fix your credit faster, and much more. So, if you need more help, consider getting services from the experience you can find with Lexington Law Firm or CreditRepair.com.Don’t delay your credit repair, and avoid it getting worse. Get started today and see where a good credit score can take you.

Disclosure:Credit.com and CreditRepair.com are both owned by Credit.com Holdings, LLC. Oquirrh Mountain Law Group, PC, d/b/a Lexington Law Firm is an independent law firm that uses Credit.com Holdings, LLC as a provider of business and administrative services.