If you discover a fraudulent item on your credit report, typically caused by identity theft, you’ll likely want it gone as quickly as possible — especially if you’re looking to improve your credit score for a big purchase or to get better terms on a new credit card. But getting that error removed isn’t easy.... Read More

You know you have a problem — a credit score problem — but you don’t know how to fix it. There are so many different possibilities that could be the source of your credit problems that it’s hard to know where to start. Here are some tools to help you understand, diagnose and manage your... Read More

It’s a scenario we hear about from consumers all the time: You get a call from a debt collector. They say you owe them money for a long past-due bill, but when you pull your credit report, you can’t find any record of the account’s existence. Do you actually have to pay? Well, the answer... Read More

Here’s the quick and dirty on credit reports: You have more than one, and you’re entitled to see them. You can get a free annual credit report from each of the big three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) through AnnualCreditReport.com. They’re pretty easy to obtain, it doesn’t hurt your credit to ask for them... Read More

If you’ve gone a long time without checking your credit (or if you’re checking it for the very first time), you may be in for a surprise. A whopping 56% of Americans had bad credit scores, per a survey from early 2015. Fortunately, you don’t necessarily need to panic if your score is below 600 (the... Read More

A dad who has recovered from money troubles is hoping to help his teen daughter start her financial life with the benefit of a good credit score by adding her as an authorized user to his credit card, but he’s worried that his past could come back to haunt her. “I want to put my daughter,... Read More