The higher your credit rating scores are, the more access you will have to credit and you will also get better interest rates than you would with lower scores. The three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are all required by law to provide one free copy per year of your credit reports. The easiest way to repair or improve your credit scores usually starts at the government-authorized site annualcreditreport.com where consumers can request their own reports from the three major credit reporting agencies. This does not mean the three agencies will actually divulge your credit score numbers for free, what they will give you for free is a copy of your latest, updated credit report showing charges, payoffs as well as any outstanding debts. Individual consumers seeking credit information do not have to go through the government sponsored site if they desire to contact the three credit agencies directly on their own.
The three major credit reporting agencies are:
Equifax: 800-685-1111, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374; www.equifax.com.
Experian: 888-397-3742, PO Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013; ww.experian.com.
TransUnion: 800-888-4213, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022; www.transunion.com.
After receiving any credit reports, consumers should always check them for accuracy to make sure there are no credit cards or other debt accounts on your reports that do not actually belong to you. Other problems like duplicate past-due items and inaccuracies like an incorrect Social Security number or date of birth are fairly common and occur on many credit reports. Consumers should be aware they can also request any negative credit reports over seven years old be removed from their reports because they are no longer considered part of a person’s credit history for rating purposes. All three agencies are required by law to check out any errors you bring to their attention. Consumers can also ask that items be deleted from their reports in the event that a creditor can not verify that the information is correct or the creditor does not respond to the query at all.
There are many misconceptions surrounding credit repair, and one of the most common is thinking that closing old accounts you are no longer using will raise your credit scores. Instead, it is more likely to reduce the amount of your total available credit and could result in even lower numerical scores. Paying all of your bills on time is important however, because the payment history, good or bad, is equal to about one-third of your overall credit score. Paying your bills on time, questioning any incorrect data and keeping a close eye on your reports are all steps that can eventually lead to better credit scores and lower interest rates.
