5 ways to spring clean your credit report
DESCRIPTION
Five ways to help you spring clean your credit report by scanning and assessing the things that are hurting your credit score and then create an action plan to turn it around.TRANSCRIPT
5 Ways to Spring Clean Your Credit Report
Credit Repair
What are credit score based on?
#1- Do one scan for flat-out errors.
By law a copy of your credit report must be provided to you once a year as well as anytime you are not approved for credit.
Go to AnnualCreditReport.com and order your credit reports from all three reporting bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Look for accounts that aren’t yours,
that have long been closed or otherwise are erroneously reported
#2- Do a scan for reporting inaccuracies
Delinquencies should age entirely off your report after 7 years bankruptcies after 10.
In particular, you’re looking for things like: delinquencies that should have aged off balances listed as higher than they truly
are limits listed as lower than they really are short sales/foreclosures that are
improperly dated, among other things.
#3- Dispute report errors
By law creditors must respond to disputes within 30 days.
Follow the instructions on the reports to dispute such report errors immediately online on the phone and in writing.
#4- Pay the right things off BUT…
…take care not to pay off accounts you need to show your responsible use of credit.
• accounts in collections• state and federal tax liens• past home loans or lines of credit in default that not extinguished through foreclosure (e.g., second loans, home equity lines of credit, etc.)• defaulted federal student loans (for FHA loan
applicants).
#5- Create a plan
Real debt help is found only in changing your behavior.
Analyze your income versus your debt. Create a budget and a timeline of
how you will pay off your debt Take settlement offers IF… Consider taking care of the higher
interest loans first
Questions?
Resources
Learnvest.com
Frugalgirl.com
Frugalliving.about.com
www.oswego.edu/about/centers/obcr.html
Office of Business and Community Relations Initiative