The DIY Credit Rating Repair Guide

Welcome to the Credit Rating Repair Guide. Do you realize how crucial your credit report is when applying for loans, insurance and even a job? Your credit report will influence everything from interest rates on credit cards and mortgages to premiums on your insurance! Some companies even use them to determine your level of responsibility before hiring you!

So obviously it would be a very sensible idea to get a copy of your credit file to ensure the information it contains about you is correct, accurate and up to date. You might think that because you’ve always been careful to make your payments on time that your credit report will be reflect that. Well ideally yes, this would be the case, however it is not always that simple. Let me explain why. Your credit file is basically a running record of how well you manage credit that has been extended to you such as loans, credit cards & overdrafts. This includes any missed or late payments!

This means your credit provider is obligated to report to the credit referencing agencies each month on the status of your accounts. If you miss a card payment for whatever reason, your provider will report this to at least one credit agency who will enter it on to your record. Due to this system, it is possible that incorrect data can be recorded, maybe due to human error or perhaps confusion over similar names. Maybe even identity fraud! The fact is that almost 1 in 10 requested credit files are disputed for inaccurate entries. You can make sure this doesn't happen to you by following our easy Credit Rating Repair Guide...

The first step in the Credit Rating Repair guide is for you to get a copy of your credit file. There are 3 main referencing agencies you need to know about. Once a year, you can get free copies of your credit report from the 3 main credit reference agencies - Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. Make sure you get a copy from EACH of the agencies because they will not all be the same.

Take a look at the link below to get started...

Once you have these, grab yourself a coffee and sit down for half an hour or so to browse through your report. They’re pretty easy to understand. Take a highlighter and start to read through your information. If you come across anything suspicious, or an entry you think maybe incorrect, highlight it and move on, don’t worry about it at this stage. We need to see the bigger picture before we proceed with your credit rating repair. Ready? Let's get to work.

The same information should appear on all of the reports, however you may notice that this isn’t the case. Don’t worry about it though, it may just be that a particular lender prefers to report to a particular credit referencing agency and not all 3. You may also see the names of other people who you are reported to have a financial link to, like a spouse or a business partner, but be careful and check the details. It is not uncommon to find that you are still linked to somebody you no longer have a financial link with! As long as the link is shown on your file, their financial standing will impact on your applications. So if this is the case, highlight it.

Now that you have marked any questionable or disputed entries, the next step in the Credit Rating Repair Guide is to get them removed. Your first point of contact will be the credit reference agency itself. Write a letter to them explaining you believe incorrect entries are found on your credit report, explain why you believe they are incorrect and include a photocopy of the highlighted entry to speed things up a little. Include any supporting evidence if it’s required - for example if you have confirmation of a settled debt, but it still shows as outstanding.

There are three major credit referencing agencies used in the US. These are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Here are their contact details:

Equifax P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374 1-800-685-1111

Experian P.O. Box 2002 Allen, TX 75013 1-888-397-3742

Trans Union P.O. Box 1000 Chester, PA 19022 1-800-888-4213

Generally they are quite helpful and will let you know they’ve received your letter and are looking into your disputes. It’s then a case of waiting for a full reply. The credit referencing agency will need to contact the creditor who made the entry, as they can’t remove it without permission, so give them a little time to sort things out. If you are looking to have another name removed from your file, they will send you a ‘disassociation notice’ to complete before it is removed.

In the majority of cases, a letter to the credit referencing agencies will resolve your issues perfectly fine, however if they cannot remove the entry they will let you know in writing and they'll also explain why. Normally, these cases are due to the creditor insisting the entry is correct. Don’t panic yet though, if the entry is incorrect, you have every right to have it removed, so the next step is to contact the creditor directly with your issue. Again, do this in writing and keep a record of all correspondence in case you need it at a later date.