If you feel that your credit report scores are not as good as they should be, the first thing you should do is order a credit report to which you are legally entitled to on an annual basis and review it as soon as you receive it. Any negative findings on your credit report and scores will be accompanied by an explanation so you can be made aware of what you need to do to correct these items that may be negatively affecting your credit.
One of the easiest items to fix on your report is basic information that is inaccurate such as your name or address. Clerical errors with this type of information can cause problems in verifying your identity and thereby hurt your credit rating. You need to submit a letter of dispute to the credit bureau from which you received your report in order to have the information corrected.
The greatest amount of information on your report is your payment history. Payments that are made but are late can create the greatest damage on your credit report and scores. If you have accounts for which you have not made payments in the last 30 to 60 days, then you should pay these off as best you can so as not to take a toll on your credit report and scores. If any charge-offs or accounts on which collection agents have been called also appear on your credit report and scores, then you should try to negotiate with your creditors and debt collectors in order to have them removed from your report. They are under no obligation to do it but you might be able to talk them into helping you.
One of the easiest items to fix on your report is basic information that is inaccurate such as your name or address. Clerical errors with this type of information can cause problems in verifying your identity and thereby hurt your credit rating. You need to submit a letter of dispute to the credit bureau from which you received your report in order to have the information corrected.
The greatest amount of information on your report is your payment history. Payments that are made but are late can create the greatest damage on your credit report and scores. If you have accounts for which you have not made payments in the last 30 to 60 days, then you should pay these off as best you can so as not to take a toll on your credit report and scores. If any charge-offs or accounts on which collection agents have been called also appear on your credit report and scores, then you should try to negotiate with your creditors and debt collectors in order to have them removed from your report. They are under no obligation to do it but you might be able to talk them into helping you.
