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How do I Re-Establish Good Credit? |
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| The First Step |
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| There's no magic to repairing your credit but with hard work and discipline it can be rebuilt. The first and most important step in reestablishing your credit is to avoid any further financial problems. Become financially responsible right away. Make a budget and stick to it. |
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| The Next Step |
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| The next step is to focus on your personal credit reports. If you have unsatisfactory credit, it's because the information in your credit report is unsatisfactory or possibly inaccurate. If the information in your credit report is valid, and verified, it cannot be removed. |
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| The main contributors to "bad" credit are: |
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Bills have been paid late or not at all |
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Too much debt has been accumulated |
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Information on your credit report may contain possible inaccuracies |
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Credit reports have not been corrected and updated. |
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| Get your Credit Reports |
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| You should obtain a copy of your credit report to see what's being reported and to correct any possible inaccurate information. Because information may differ between the three major credit bureaus, we suggest a three-bureau merged report as opposed to a single-bureau report. |
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| How can you correct errors on your credit reports? |
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| Once you have obtained a copy of your reports detailing information from all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion), you should provide each of the bureaus with a written request to investigate any outdated, inaccurate or ambiguous information. It is also a good idea to write to the credit grantor reporting the inaccurate information, including copies of any backup paperwork you may have. |
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| When writing to the individual bureau(s) that supplied the credit reports be sure to include the following information: |
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Your full name including first, middle, last and any suffixes |
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Your current mailing address |
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Your social security number |
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Your date of birth |
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The name and account number of the account in question and why you are requesting an investigation |
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Your signature |
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| Then mail all this information to the appropriate credit bureau: |
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Equifax Information Services
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374 |
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TransUnion Consumer Relations
P.O. Box 34012
Fullerton, CA 92834 |
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Experian Consumer Assistance Center
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013 |
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| Fair Credit Reporting Act |
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| The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires the bureaus to validate the information as accurate or remove it from your credit report. In most cases, there is a 30-day limit for the credit reporting agencies to resolve these disputes and you'll receive written notice of the investigation results within five days of its completion. |
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| Beginning to use credit again |
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| The third step to rebuilding your credit is to begin using credit. Obtain a credit card if you don't have one, even if it's a secured card. Use this card a little each month to charge normal purchases such as groceries or gasoline. Then pay the card balance in full each month to avoid any additional charges. This way you will begin to develop a positive payment history, which is exactly what credit grantors are looking for. |
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