Get a dramatic boost to your credit

Your credit report is a snapshot of your entire financial and credit history. It will tell everything from where you live to who is your employer. Your credit report will show how you have handled your finances. Companies, known as credit bureaus, compile every bit of data regarding your credit life and sell it to businesses worldwide. So you now see how important it is to maintain good credit.

Because your information is distributed so widely to those seeking to make a business decisions based upon you credit, in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Consumers are advised to take every effort to protect their credit as much as possible. It is critical to your overall financial health.

Getting Your Clean Credit Report

In the event that you are denied credit, insurance or employment due to what was provided by a CRA, the FCRA states that you must be supplied with a copy of the information used against you. As long as that request is made within sixty days.

Since the law states that each individual has a right to a copy of their credit report once a year, you simply need to contact the credit bureaus to request a copy.

The three major national credit bureaus are:

Equifax, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241; (800) 685-1111.

Experian (formerly TRW), P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013; (888) EXPERIAN (397-3742).

Trans Union, P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022; (800) 916-8800.

The first step in raising your credit score, is to write the bureaus and outline what you believe to be inaccurate in your credit report. Provide the bureaus any information that is pertinent to your case. Remembering to keep originals and make copies of the letters disputing the information.

The credit bureaus must re-investigate each incident within thirty days. The only time they do not have to investigate your claims if they believe that the dispute that you are making is without merit. During the time of the investigation, all disputed items must be removed from the individuals' credit report. If this information is not investigated and responded to within the given time frame, the item disputed must be removed. Whether it is accurate or not.

With these items removed or corrected, your credit in a matter of months will shoot up! I have seen situations in which an individuals' credit has soared as much as 100 points in a short period of time.