Sunday, March 29, 2009

Short Term Ways To Improve Your Credit Score That Are Lasting

By Anthony Fine

Having credit is a critical asset for any individual in today's complex world. Unless you have a credit history, you will find it difficult to impossible to get any type of loan for a car, house or even get the opportunity for employment at most jobs.

Therefore, it is extremely important to maintain a high credit rating so that you can take full advantage of life's opportunities. You must always be looking for ways to improve your credit score, or, if you have a good credit score, continue to maintain it.

Getting copies of your free credit reports individually from the three major credit reporting bureaus in the U S, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion is definitely one of the most important ways to improve your credit score. At no cost, you are legally entitled to get a copy of each report annually from all three of the companies.

When the reporting agencies send you your reports, carefully examine each for outdated, inaccurate and falsely reported information. When you catch the errors, and the majority of people often do, you must contact the reporting agency by mail with a written letter outlining each mistake. State the errors and offer your correct version of the information.

The credit bureaus have the burden of correcting the flawed data on your credit report once you send them written notice of the errors. They will contact the creditors who supplied the incorrect data initially and demand that the disputed information be corrected. If the creditors do not respond within a reasonable period of time, generally 30-45 days, your credit report will be expunged of this data.

Once you have cleared all three of your credit reports of any inaccurate information, generally you will see an improvement in your credit score within several months. It is then up to you to maintain your good credit rating by paying your bills on time and maintaining a low debt to income ratio.

Credit card companies will be more likely to consider you a riskier customer, even if your bills are paid on time, if the balances you maintain on your credit cards are high relative to your income. As a high risk customer, you will generally have a lower credit score.

Maintaining and improving your credit score is your responsibility. One study shows that as many as 70% of all credit reports have some form of inaccurate information that can negatively impact a consumer's credit score. Be vigilant and responsible and your personal credit score will serve you well.

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