Thursday, July 26, 2012

Fixing Bad Credit Doesn't Have To Be Difficult

Are you kept awake thinking about your credit report? These great tips will get you on the right track to repair your credit and not have to worry anymore about what the future holds.

When speaking with creditors, be forthright about your financial situation and express willingness to cooperate. Explain how much money you have available for a payment, and tell them when you will make that payment. Understand that they are able to negotiate.

Keeping track of the number of times a credit score gets checked is part of safeguarding a healthy credit record. Anytime someone pulls up your credit, the inquiry is noted on your report.

In order to make sure that you do not overpay, know that you can dispute your really high interest rates. When a creditor hits you with incredibly high interest rates, you may have a case for negotiating to a lower amount. It is important to take into account the fact that you did sign a contract and agreed to pay off the attached interest. You can consider suing your creditors if the interest rates are outrageously high.

Lowering the balances you carry on revolving accounts can improve your credit score. Having a lower balance will boost your credit score. The FICO system makes a note when your balances are at 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 percent of your available credit.

Consider joining a credit union. They offer a lot of benefits to their members and it can be easier to obtain a line of credit from them. Credit unions typically offer a wider variety of credit options at better interest rates than a traditional bank. Credit unions are usually non-profit, which means better deals for you.

If you find any errors on your credit reports, dispute them. Draft a dispute letter that will go to each credit rating agency that shows an error, and prepare any supporting documents. Always send your dispute letters certified mail, so that you can get return confirmation. This will give you proof that the agency received your dispute paperwork.

Having to deal with debt collectors is often very stressful and distressing. If a debt collection agency is harassing you, writing a cease and desist letter can stop the harassment. You will still have to pay what you owe even if collection agencies stop calling you.

Make sure you thoroughly research into any credit repair agency or counselor before you do business with them. Some counselors truly want to help you, while others are untrustworthy and have other motives. Other programs, while they sound good, are complete and total scams. Wise consumers always verify that credit counselors are legitimate before dealing with them.

Since your credit score measures how often you are late on your bills, the best way to raise your credit score is to pay your bills promptly. You are more likely to remember your payment due dates if you have some kind of reminder system set up. There are a variety of ways to setup payment reminders. You could set them through your mobile phone as a call or text, or you can get an email from the company.

Negative-but-correct information cannot be removed from your credit report, so be wary of promises from unscrupulous companies who promise to remove it from the credit reporting agencies. If the information is correct, it will remain as part of your report, in most cases, for seven years. It is possible to have erroneous information removed from your report, however.

With the application of this advice, you do not have to be haunted by your poor credit report. You can fix your credit and not let it bother you anymore. The credit rating of your dreams can be had with the helpful hints shared here.