How To Clean Up Your Credit Report

Whether you are trying to buy a house, a car or get a personal loan, your credit is the first thing that the lender will look at. You can clean up negative information on your file, yourself. Here's how...


Things You'll Need
A copy of your credit report from all three credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax).
Persistence
Patience



Step One
Get a copy of your credit report from the 3 credit bureaus; Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. You can obtain a free report from each credit bureau once a year at annualcreditreport.com. You may also get a copy if negative information has been recently added or you had an application for credit denied.

Step Two
If you find any inaccurate information on your report, you may dispute it, either online or by writing a letter to the credit bureau that provided the report. If you have any proof of the inaccuracy you should send it along with the dispute letter.

Step Three
Once you have disputed the negative information, the credit bureau will contact the creditor regarding your claim and the credit company has 30 to 45 days to provide the requested information or the negative item has to be removed from you credit file.

Step Four
Negative items on your credit report may also be removed even if they are correct. If you have otherwise maintained good standing with the creditor that reported the information, you can write to them and request that they remove the item from your credit report.

Tips & Warnings

• There are companies that offer credit repair services, for those who don't want to go through the process of disputing their credit reports themselves.



• Whether or not your credit report needs to be disputed, you should monitor your credit reports from all three bureaus.



• If you are the victim of identity theft, you can write to the credit bureaus and request that a fraud alert be placed on your credit report.



• A fraud alert does not change your credit rating! You will have to verify your identity whenerver you apply for new credit, making the online credit application process more timely.



• Collection items will remain on on your credit report 7 years. Bankruptcy remains on your credit report for a 10 years.

*Provided courtesy of eHow by Sounique.

7 tips for surviving the credit crunch

1. Verify the status quo"Step one is to make sure that you do, in fact, still have the same terms that you had originally," says Ulzheimer. Check not only the interest rate on your account, he says, but the credit limit and the grace period. Issuers sometimes shorten grace periods on accounts that aren't generating much revenue.


2. Avoid 'atypical' activity Consumers spend in patterns, so any atypical moves could cause a drop in your credit score and attract scrutiny from your issuer, Ulzheimer cautions. "You don't want to all of a sudden start revolving a balance just for the heck of it because you want to put more money toward your 401(k) or put more money toward other investments or stick more money in savings. If you have the ability to continue to pay in full, it's probably a good idea to continue to do so."
Ditto multiple balance transfers and credit application sprees. Like someone passing a police car, you don't want to do anything that looks suspicious.


3. Keep up the good payment history Always pay on time, keep balances low and pay them off every month, if possible. The higher your balances, the riskier you look.



4. Don't neglect other bills Utility companies and other service providers sometimes report payment information to the credit-reporting companies, says Steven Katz, director of consumer communications for TransUnion's TrueCredit.com. An unpaid medical bill, for example, could wind up as a derogatory item on your credit report, bringing down your credit score.


5. Check your credit reports Make sure your credit reports contain accurate information, because inaccurate, derogatory marks could damage your credit scores. Pull a different report every four months from one of the three major credit-reporting agencies by going to http://www.bankrate.com/msn/news/cc/www.annualcreditreport.com. You're entitled to a free credit report from each bureau every 12 months.


6. Plan ahead if missing a payment If you know you're going to miss a payment, don't wait for a collector to call about the delinquent debt. Contact your issuer in advance to see if you can work out a payment plan.
Hardekopf advises calling your issuer to explain why you're going to miss a payment. Emphasize your good payment history and say that while you don't want to see your interest rate skyrocket, you aren't trying to skip out on the bill. Ask if a payment plan could be arranged.


7. Read 'junk mail' from your issuers People who don't open correspondence from their issuers may get rude surprises. According to the Truth in Lending Act, an issuer has to give only 15 days' advance written notice before taking an adverse action -- an undesirable change to the terms of your card agreement.

**Information provided courtesy of Bankrate.com