Debt Free Destiny

Have you made mistakes in the past that continue to haunt you on your credit report? As most people are aware your credit report is no longer used solely for determining if you are worthy of credit but also to determine if you can get a cell phone plan, rent an apartment or even get a job. Considering how detrimental negative marks on your credit report can be to your financial future you may be tempted to sign up with the first company that offers to repair your credit. Before you sign on the dotted line, consider a do-it-yourself approach to see if you can minimize the damage on your own. The following steps can help you tackle the blemishes on your report and get you heading in the right direction.

Before you get started you should understand that repairing your credit won’t take place overnight and you will not be able to “get rid off” accurate negative marks. With that in mind you are ready to get started.

1. Where do you stand? Before you can begin the process of repairing your credit you must first understand what information is being reported on your credit report. Order your credit report from the top three credit bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) to see what information lenders and others who pull your report are seeing. It is important to order all three reports to ensure you get the big picture. You can do this for free once a year through annualreport.com. If you have recently been denied credit you are entitled to a free report from the reporting agency.

2. Is the information correct? Many people don’t realize that credit bureaus don’t verify the information they receive from your creditors. This means that nearly every consumer has an error on at least one of their reports. It is your job to examine the reports carefully to determine if the information provided is accurate.

3. Correcting inaccuracies. If you find information that is incorrect it pays to dispute the information. While this process is sometimes lengthy and requires a bit of leg work on your part it is definitely worth your efforts, remember negative marks can have a negative impact on your ability to receive lower interest rates, get approved for credit and effect your rates for other contracts. You will have to contact the reporting agency and provide documentation that supports why the information they are reporting is incorrect. In some cases you may have to contact the creditor directly to help resolve the issue.

4. Tackle your debt. Another important step in repairing or rebuilding your credit is getting rid of your debt. Of course this won’t happen overnight but you need to address your current level of debt and devise a plan to reduce the amount . If you have accounts that are past due, make the effort to contact your creditors and see if they can assist you in getting back on track and avoid having your accounts being reported as delinquent.

5. Getting rid of accurate negative marks. This cannot be done-legally. If the information reported is correct the only recourse is time. Do not fall for companies that say they can remove accurate information from your credit report. Depending on the account some marks can remain on your report for as little as two years up to as much as ten years.

There are many changes taking place in the world of credit reporting. Take some time to research these changes and how they may effect information reported to the credit bureaus to ensure you are on top of new developments and understand how they can affect your credit report.