Repairing Your Credit
A good credit score opens up the door to many financial opportunities. From a new car, house, or even more spending power, it’s crucial to put in the effort to ensure your credit stays healthy. However, mistakes happen, some without fault. So, you need to understand what these are and fix them, even if you had nothing to do with them! This is where credit repair comes in and offers one avenue to securing a more stable financial future.
But, credit repair takes time and you may not see a boost in credit score overnight. So, it’s important to be vigilant and keep your credit history in good standing in order to see positive long-term effects. With discipline and effort, you can fix your credit and see where a good score can take you. If you need help repairing your credit and don’t know where to start, let Credit.com show you the way. Here, we discuss how to repair your credit, what to look for, and the tools you may need to make sure everything goes well.
How Can I Repair My Credit?
Before you start repairing your credit, you should know what brings your score up or down. Your credit score is made up of many different factors, and it’s affected by things such as collections accounts and late payments. And credit repair involves fixing these kinds of marks that are negatively affecting your credit.
Before you get started, you need to look at your credit reports to see exactly what’s bringing your scores down and what doesn’t belong to you. Here’s how to do get started.
Getting Your Credit Reports
To get a comprehensive view of your credit and what exactly you need to fix, you need access to your credit reports. The Fair Credit Reporting Act states you’re entitled to one free credit report per year from all three credit bureaus. You can request these at AnnualCreditReport.com. Because of the pandemic, you can get these reports weekly for a limited time. With these reports, you can see where your credit is faltering, and get a better understanding of what needs to be done.
If you want to see your credit reports as much as you want and see more than a score given to you with a free service, try ExtraCredit®. You can access your credit reports, as well as 28 FICO® scores, which lets you see what lenders do. Try it free for seven days and see the scores you’re missing.
Look for Mistakes in Your Credit Report
Now that you have your credit reports, the first thing to do is verify that all of your personal information, accounts, payment history, and any other information reported by lenders is correct. In a credit report, you normally can see your personal information, accounts and their status, hard and soft credit inquiries, any collections, repossessions, foreclosures, or bankruptcies, if applicable. So, with all that in mind, make sure you can correctly attribute all this information as accurate. If not, then you may need to file disputes to challenge the inaccurate information.
Disputing Errors in Your Credit Report
Considering lenders are required to respond to credit disputes, now is a good time to take control of your credit and clear it of any mistakes. To file a formal dispute with the credit bureaus or credit issuers, it’s important to have all relevant information. Then, it’s as simple as sending a formal letter that states you believe there is an error on your credit report and that the reporting agency should verify its accuracy. This letter should state which errors you’d like to dispute and whether you’d like them removed or corrected, as well as a copy of your credit report with the mistakes highlighted. The letter should also be supported by copies of any records or documents that support the claim the information is inaccurate or if its date goes beyond the statute of limitations, another reason to file disputes.
If the agency is unable to verify the claim presented, the respective bureau has to remove or correct the error(s). Here is the contact information for each lender so you can start your dispute process as soon as possible:
Disputing Errors with Lenders
With disputes, you should always start with the lender itself, in addition to the bureaus. The process is similar to reporting to the bureaus, in which you want to send all pertinent information of the mistake in question, as well as a formal letter asking them to verify the account, remove it, or fix incorrect information. Make sure to do this as quickly as possible, to ensure the information is corrected before it does more damage to your credit.
Know Your Credit Health
Your credit could always use a helping hand. So, you need to know where your credit stands and what you can do about it. Do you want to know exactly how healthy your credit really is? Then sign up with Credit.com for your free credit report card. You can see up-to-date information on your credit, so you can better keep track of your credit repair. And you can see recommendations in areas of improvement, and continue to work at building your credit score by building good financial habits.
What More Can I Do to Repair My Credit?
Fixing your credit is not easy. It’s better when you have the support you need and the resources necessary to achieve success. If you need additional tools to help fix credit scores, you’re in luck. Here at Credit.com, we partner with many financial products and have many articles on financial health that can help you on your credit journey. Check out these tools and services that can help you stay on the right track to financial wellness.
Get Credit Cards for Repairing Credit
If you’re trying to build your credit back up, it can be frustrating to find what can work best for your situation. A credit card might be an option for you. Remember, make sure you can take on new credit and are able to manage making on-time payments consistently before applying. Here are some options that might work for you while working to repair your credit.
- OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card: This card does not require a credit check to apply. You can open a new account with a security deposit that becomes your credit limit, starting as low as $200. Proper usage and on-time payments can get you a credit limit increase within the first six months, as well as eligibility for an unsecured card.
- Destiny Mastercard® – $700 Credit Limit: This card is an unsecured card with no deposit required, and with a quick pre-qualification process. It also reports payments to all three credit bureaus and is accepted at over 40 million locations online, in app, and in store.
Debt Management Apps
When you’re handling a mountain of debt, you may need tools to help you get everything organized and ensure you’re managing your debt accordingly and responsibly. A debt management app can help alleviate the stress of combing through all your debt, and input it all into one place: your phone!
Get ExtraCredit®
ExtraCredit is a comprehensive credit monitoring solution that simplifies the confusing world of credit. With advanced and complete credit coverage, you can rest assured ExtraCredit makes it easy to keep track of your credit in one simple solution.
Track It
Did you know you have more than one credit score? And did you know the score you see on free sites isn’t even what lenders are looking at? With Track It from ExtraCredit, you can access 28 FICO scores, so you can see exactly what lenders see before you apply for a car, mortgage, or credit cards. Plus see your credit standing in one snapshot, and know for certain what you need to fix your credit.
Restore It
Credit repair can take a lot of effort, and sometimes, you need more help to make sure your credit fix goes well. Restore It through ExtraCredit offers you discounted access to a leader in credit repair to be that helping hand. You can get an exclusive discount on a leader in credit repair, providing tested credit repair strategies that can get you real results. Don’t delay in seeking help for your credit repair; let ExtraCredit and Restore It make it happen for you,
Start Repairing Your Credit Today
Credit repair is not easy. There are a lot of moving parts that go beyond what many can handle. But, with the right resources and tools at your disposal, you can work to fix your credit and make your financial dreams happen faster than you ever thought possible.
Need Professional Help Repairing Your Credit?
With credit repair, the sooner you get started, the better. Sometimes, this means enlisting the help of the pros in credit repair. These services can send dispute letters on your behalf, analyze the best way to fix your credit faster, and much more. So, if you need more help, consider getting services from the experience you can find with Lexington Law Firm or CreditRepair.com. Don’t delay your credit repair, and avoid it getting worse. Get started today and see where a good credit score can take you.
Disclosure: Credit.com and CreditRepair.com are both owned by the same company, Progrexion Holdings Inc. John C Heath, Attorney at Law, PC, d/b/a Lexington Law Firm is an independent law firm that uses Progrexion as a provider of business and administrative services.
