Credit Score Repair

If you are currently repairing your credit report you understand how important your score is. How this number directly impacts your quality of life.

You will be judged by employers and lenders on this number. It can prevent you from being approved for credit and worse yet being hired for a job.

When you apply for credit most lenders will look at nothing more than this three digit number. They will not take into account any reason as to why a derogatory listing is there.

There are two aspects you should focus your efforts on when repairing your credit score.

1. Removing negative items from your credit report.

Negative marks cause the most damage to your score. However you can remove these items without waiting the full 7 years.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows you to dispute any negative listing on your credit report. When you file a dispute you are telling the bureaus that this mark is inaccurate or invalid.

In order to file a dispute a dispute letter must be mailed to the credit bureaus. In this letter you need to include an explanation as to why the mark is incorrect. Frequently reasons are; not my account, account paid before sent to collections, item out of date. When the bureaus receive your letter they will investigate the mark.

If the mark is not verified by the lender the bureaus must remove it from your credit report. It has been discovered that many marks are removed once they are investigated, regardless of their accuracy.

2. Build positive credit

This is a more difficult task with a low credit score. This is because it is difficult to be approved for new lines of credit.

However you need to have a credit line to build positive credit. This will have the most impact if it is an unsecured credit card, even with outrageous interest rates.

With your credit card you want to keep the balance at approximately 10% of your credit limit. This is because it will show the credit bureau that you are using your credit and it will improve you ratio of credit to debt.

Also by making your on time monthly payments it will create a positive payment history. If you can not build a positive payment history it will be next to impossible to improve your credit rating.

In sum your credit can be repaired. It may be in your interest to remove some negative marks before you open a new credit line, to ensure approval. However you should remove negative marks and build positive credit to get you to a 700 credit score.