My Credit Score is the Pits

Have you tried to use your credit recently only to be denied? Did you apply for a job and find that you did not get it due to your poor credit? Many Americans find out the hard way that their credit score is not what they want. If you don’t know what your score is the first thing that you should do is get the report and see what is on the report. Since most Americans have not reviewed their credit report, they may be surprised at what is on the report.

Once a year you can get your credit report for free. You can go to the annualcreditreport and get your free credit report. Once you have the report take a look at the report and highlight anything on your report that is incorrect or inaccurate.

If you see items that you are not sure about or if you know that they are inaccurate take the time to dispute them. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) gives you the right to dispute anything on your credit report that is inaccurate or misleading. It is the only way that this inaccurate information can be corrected. Your creditors will give that information to the Credit Bureau and they will provide that information to anyone who requests your information when you apply for a loan or a job. So if the information is incorrect it may be affecting your credit score.

Also, take the time to review your personal information. This is often the first signs of Identity Theft. You may see names or addresses that don’t belong to you. You should dispute them as well since this information may show that you have been in places that you have never lived. It may have been an accident or your account may have been merged with a similar account.

It does not matter how it happened, it just needs to be corrected. You should take the time to dispute the information that is incorrect or inaccurate to each of the three credit bureaus. This is the only way that you can get your information corrected. If you know the information is incorrect, then you should dispute it until it is fixed. You may be letters that indicate the information is correct but if you know that it is not accurate keep disputing.

If you have many items that are incorrect or you don’t feel that you can do the disputing, hire a professional. There are several good legitimate companies that can do the disputing for you. Take your time and gather some information before hiring a credit repair company. If you find a good company they can dispute all of the negative items in the most effective manner. They have been disputing for many years and have seen how the credit bureaus react to disputes. They will be able to dispute for you so that the items get corrected and your credit score can go up.

Don’t be afraid of hiring a professional. The Credit Bureaus don’t want you to dispute and they certainly don’t want you to hire someone who knows how they respond.

Mel Jensen is a retired Customer Service Manager with Ovation Credit Services. He has written many articles regarding Credit Repair.