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Good
credit is crucial in today's economy. Good credit allows you
to have credit cards, obtain car or home loan, and to take advantage
of many other money-related conveniences. It is possible to
live without good credit, but having a bad credit rating can
affect you negatively for the rest of your life.
You
might be surprised to know that only a handful of credit bureaus
in North America hold the key to your credit rating, and therefore
your financial future. These credit bureaus receive the positive
and negative reports issued by your creditors and create your
personal credit report and credit score based on the results.
If your credit history is poor, it is important to repair your
credit so that you don’t get turned down for a mortgage
or even a department store credit card. In order to do this,
you must first learn how to deal effectively with a credit bureau.
Begin by finding out what credit
bureau has your file. This information will be on any rejection
letters you may have from a declined credit application. Next,
you’ll need to obtain a copy of your credit history. Remember
that you are allowed, by law, to obtain a copy of your credit
history if you’ve been denied credit, though some organizations
might imply otherwise. You should only pay for a credit report
if you want an instant copy, rather than to have one mailed
to you, in which case a bureau will send you one for a fee.
It is important to remember
that a credit bureau is in the business of collection and selling
information. This means that you should never provide them with
any information that you are not required to by law, unless
you want them to use it against you. It is legally necessary
for you to provide the following to get a copy of your credit
report:
1. Name
2. Social Security Number
3. Legal Address
The credit bureau might request
copies of your social security card or your driver’s license.
If they ask for a copy of your driver’s license as proof
of address, it’s best to provide them with a copy of a
bill or something else addressed to you instead. You should
be careful when providing credit bureaus information, because
most own collection agencies and they will use any of the information
that you provide to hassle you with the credit and collection
issues that you are already trying to fix.
Examine your report closely and note any possible
errors. If you have questions about a specific debt, you can
mail a written request to the credit bureau that they investigate
that particular debt. Legally, the credit bureau is required
to document any discrepancies on your credit report, otherwise,
if they don’t do this in 30 days, the entire item must
be removed. Most of the credit repair companies out there will
charge you fees to perform this service, but you can do it yourself
for free with just a little bit of time and effort.
Learning to deal with credit bureaus will
allow you to engage in successful credit repair without paying
a credit repair company a high fee. When you educate yourself
in what the legal obligations are that credit bureaus entail,
in many cases, you can effectively repair your own credit just
as quickly as a credit repair company.
This
website contains free credit bureau information.
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