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Credit Report Clean Up

By: EconomyWatch Date: 25 August 2009

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Credit report clean up is ideally the first step before applying for credit facilities. Going through a credit report and highlighting the mistakes or areas of amendments can help an applicant increase his/her creditworthiness and thus get a better interest rate on loans, mortgages or other revolving credits.

Every turned down credit is registered under enquiries and is considered bad. Even a slight typing mistake can cause a dip in your credit rating. Therefore, as a precautionary step, always ask for your credit report and request for corrections ahead of time.

Tips on Credit Report Clean Up

Prevention is better than cure. However, with the complexities involved in keeping an eye on the credit report, a periodic credit report checking exercise can help you keep your credit history clean and creditworthy. Follow these tips for a positive credit report:

Once you have disputed a charge, credit bureaus will ask for proof. Therefore, always keep your receipts handy and in a safe place.
Reply to the credit agencies as soon as you get their letter. In case of disputes, write back within 30 days or else the credit agencies take it for granted that you have no verifiable information.
Provide the complete information to the credit agencies when you write to them. Do not miss your name and social security number. While replying, look for the correspondence number and mention them in your replies.

If all the efforts go waste, most credit agencies allow you to add a note of around 100 words to help explain the reasons behind the dispute.

Credit Report Clean Up: Be Persistent

You may not get the desired results and clean up in your first attempt. Credit agencies often write back asking for more information or blatantly refuse your claims. Do not lose hope, keep trying.

The key to credit report clean up is to take a double approach of negotiating with the creditors if you are their defaulter or simply asking them to send the right information if there has been a clerical mistake. All this while, one should pursue the credit agencies as well to make the changes as quick as possible.