Managing, clearing and maintaining a good credit profile is essential to many aspects of your life. Your credit score is used to determine if you will be approved for a loan / credit and the interest rate you will be charged. It is used by landlords to determine if they will rent to you and at what cost. Your auto and home owner’s insurance are based on your credit score. Most employers will pull your credit report to determine if they will hire you and at what salary. Your credit score impacts your chance of getting a security clearance, governmental licenses, contracts and more.
The first step to clearing your credit is not to let it get worse. Pay all your bills on time. Then review a current copy of your credit report (Items to look for are listed below). You should dispute any item on your credit report that is inaccurate, outdated, erroneous, duplicated or otherwise wrong. Doing so can have a positive impact within 30-60 days. You should also consult with an attorney experienced in Bankruptcy / Consumer Credit Law to find other ways to improve your credit. Cleaning up your credit report, obtaining a secured credit card are two ways to start your score increasing. If you rent your residence, you can have current rent payments reported as a positive credit line. Pursue all means of building your credit. Paying your bills on time is a must.
Most importantly educate yourself on credit industry policies. Things that many people thing are positive and should increase a credit score actually lower the score. For example, closing an older account that is otherwise in good standing can lower your FICO score. The age of your credit history accounts for 85 points. Closing an old account shortens the length of your credit history.
Knowing how to manage your credit, even if you are current with all your debts, is essential to maximizing your credit score.
Items To Look For When Reviewing Your Credit File
- This account does not belong to me.
- This is a duplicate account.
- I never authorized this account.
- The balance on this account is incorrect.
- There is no past due balance on this account.
- This account is closed with a $0 balance and has a positive payment history.
- You are not reporting the correct limit on my account. This account was included in a bankruptcy and should have a $0 balance
- I was not 30, 60, 90 or 120 days late on this account.
- This account was paid.
- This account was closed by me, not the creditor.
- The open date on this account is incorrect.
- This account is still open.
- I am only an authorized user on this account. Please remove it.
- You are reporting my home equity line of credit as a revolving account.
- I never authorized this inquiry.
- This public record has been satisfied/released/dismissed/vacated.
- You are listing the wrong file/released/satisfied date on this public record.
The date of last activity on this account is incorrect.
This account never went into foreclosure/repossession. - The 7-year reporting period has expired on this account.
- The statute of limitations on this account expired. You cannot report it or re-insert it.
- You are reporting someone else’s information on my credit report that has the same name that I do.
- You are reporting the wrong social security number, birth date, spouse’s name, phone
- number on my credit report.
- You are reporting wrong/expired/misspelled addresses on my credit report.
- You are reporting misspelled/wrong names on my credit report.
- You are reporting outdated/wrong employment information on my credit report.
- This student loan account has been deferred.
Contact us for a free consultation to discuss your credit repair options.
Credit Repair Attorneys Serving Danbury, Connecticut and all of Fairfield and New Haven Counties.
