It is a fact that there is nothing that a credit restoration company can do to raise your credit score that you can’t do. You can do all of it yourself; they have no special skills or secret “inside information” that can relieve your credit file of negative information that is true, no matter what they might tell you. It is illegal to remove late payments, collections, and other types of black marks from your credit if they are in fact, true.
There are a few steps that you can take to “clean up” the information contained in your credit history, which will, in turn, raise your credit score. We’ve come up with 5 easy steps that will raise your credit score quickly.
Step 1: Have Yourself Removed from Any Joint Credit Account that You Can
When you are listed as a cardholder on someone else’s account, you are, in fact, partially liable for the purchases whether the bill comes to you or not. If you have recently gotten divorced (or any other situation has arisen in which you have split from a joint cardholder), have your self removed from the account immediately. Even if you are still involved in the relationship, having yourself taken off the card relieves your credit report of the information. As a result, your score will rise.
Step 2: Get a Copy of Each Credit Report
And be sure that you don’t pay for it. Federal legislation guarantees that every United States citizen be granted one free credit report annually from each of the three bureaus: Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian. Of course, the bureaus will try to get money out of you, but with a bit of poking around each website, you’ll find the direct link to the free service. This link changes often, so don’t assume that it will be at the same place each time you visit the site. Also, each credit bureau will hold different information about you, so you’ll need to access the report from each. Don’t assume that just because one credit report is accurate that the remaining two will follow suit.
Step 3: Print Them Out and Grab a Highlighter
You’ll want to have a copy in front of you to view thoroughly; the highlighter comes into play when you find an error (or errors). This step will make it easy to spot the inaccuracies when you move on to the nest step.
Step 4: File Your Disputes…Today
All errors must be “disputed” and done so in writing, so no phone calls. You can access the disputing option on each bureau’s website. Each bureau will have a different manner in which the disputes need to be filed, so simply follow the directions on each site.
Step 5: Review Your New, Clean Credit Report for the Tougher Errors- Repeat Step 4 …but later
After you have filed your disputes, the bureau needs to get to work on researching the information. By law, they need to contact each creditor in question and have to resolve the situation within 30 days of receiving the request. When the situation has been taken care of, you will receive a bright and shiny new credit report from each bureau.
If you still have problems and inaccuracies, you will need to refile the disputes. You may add a note to your credit report, if you wish, next to creditor information that you believe is incorrect, but that should be the last possible means of satisfaction.
Your credit is not something that should be taken lightly, as it has an impact on housing (both rental and purchase), future employment and insurance premiums, not just credit cards and loans. Making sure the information is correct is ultimately your responsibility, so be sure to take care and check it annually.
