Despite all the claims made by credit repair companies, there is no “quick fix” for you credit score. There are, however, a few things you
can do to help improve your score.

• Check for inaccuracies – Your credit report will have a number of inaccuracies that will have a negative impact on your score.
  It is within your rights to dispute these inaccuracies. Contact the credit bureau with the inaccuracy to find out how you can have it removed.
• Improve Payment History – Late payments, especially those over 60-days, will significantly decrease your score. Making your payments on time will help improve your score.
• Reduce Debts – High balances on your credit limits will also have a major affect on your score. Keeping balances that account for 10% of your credit limit or less will give you maximum credit score benefit.
• Avoid unneccessary inquiries – Every time you request credit, your credit score is pulled. Too many recent inquiries into your credit report or credit score can have a negative impact on your score.
• Have Healthy Credit Mix – For the best credit score, there needs to be a mix of loan and credit accounts. Your credit score will only improve if you have both credit cards and loans.

There are multiple types of credit scores, all of which use information from your credit report to determine your score. Answer a few simple questions and you can actually get a free estimated credit score. This score is not an actual credit score, but also doesn’t require giving up any personal identification information (like credit card or social security information) in order to get the score. You can also estimate your score as many times as you would like to.

Get your Free Estimated Credit Score

Get All 3 FREE Credit Scores

You can receive all 3 of your credit scores (one from each bureau) for FREE. By signing up for the monitoring service you’ll gain access to all 3 credit scores for a trial period of 7 days. Cancel anytime before the 7 day period expires and you won’t be charged for the service. You can only do this once every 3 months. If you choose to remain with the service after the trial period, you’ll receive email notifications when any change happens on any one of your credit reports. This service can be very valuable in helping to keep your identity safe from thieves. Use these offers correctly, and you can get all your credit information for FREE.

See All 3 FREE Credit Scores Online Today!

Free Credit Report from AnnualCreditReport.com

You can also receive a free, no obligation credit report from each of the 3 credit bureaus 1 time per year. These reports are the actual reports provided to lenders by the 3 bureaus. Credit scores are not included in the reports, however, and would need to be purchased to be seen.

Get your Free Credit Reports from AnnualCreditReport.com

A consumer credit report is a document that contains a factual record of an individual’s credit payment history. Credit providers are permitted by law to review your credit report to objectively determine whether to grant you credit. There are 190 million credit active people in the United States who have a charge account, car loan, student loan, or home mortgage.
As those people pay their bills, most lenders report credit payment information to credit bureaus. So most of the information in your consumer credit report comes directly from the companies you do business with.

What is a Credit Risk Score?

A credit risk score is a statistical summary of the information contained in a consumer’s credit report. Sophisticated mathematical processes calculate scores by assigning numerical values to various pieces of information in the credit report. Credit bureaus provide risk scores to credit providers who use them to objectively evaluate an applicant’s credit-worthiness.
The score itself is relative and will be viewed differently by creditors depending on numerous factors, including the creditor’s risk level, marketing goals, and business practices. Your risk score will change over time as your credit history develops.

Do I Have Good Credit?

You are most likely already familiar with the concept of “credit,” the reputation for paying your bills on time that makes it possible for you to obtain money or goods with the understanding that you will pay for them later.

But even if you use your credit every day, you may have questions about the credit industry and how it affects you.

In today’s society, credit is much more complicated than keeping a tally at the local grocery. As a credit-active consumer, you need to know how credit reporting works and what your credit report contains.

Does My Credit Report Contain Other, Unrelated Personal Information?

No. Your consumer credit report does not contain information about your race, religious preference, medical history, personal lifestyle, personal background, political preference or criminal record.

How long Does Information Stay on My Credit Report?

Positive credit information remains on your report indefinitely, although information about an account will cycle off your report if no new information is reported about it for seven years. (Thus, a closed account will disappear from your report seven years after it is reported closed by the credit grantor.)

What Is an Employment Report?

An employment report is a modified credit report that helps potential and current employers make hiring and promoting decisions. The employment report contains much of the same information about your loans and credit cards that your credit report has listed. However, your marital status, year of birth, and account numbers are omitted from the employment report.

What Is a Mortgage Report?

A mortgage report is a special credit report that lenders use prior to deciding whether or not to extend you a home loan. Each report is compiled from credit reports from two or three credit bureaus. The mortgage credit reporting company purchases credit reports from the credit bureaus, combines them, and manually verifies specific information such as employment, credit account balances, and public record information.

Who Checks My Credit Report?

Federal law carefully regulates how credit reports can be used and by whom. By law, you have the right to obtain your own reports at a reasonable price. Before they can access consumer credit information, businesses must offer proof that they will be using the data for no other purpose than that allowed by federal law.

While you cannot remove accurate information from your credit report, it is within your rights as a consumer to get a reinvestigation of your report. Information that is incomplete or inaccurate can often times be removed because credit bureaus must be able to verify all items that appear on the report.

The best part about asking for a reinvestigation is that it’s free! No expensive clinics are needed to find out how to do it either. Below is the step-by-step information you need to get started.

Here are the steps you’ll need to take:

1. Getting your latest credit report
2. Analyzing your credit report
3. Putting everything into motion
4. Getting results

Getting Your Latest Credit Report

This is probably the simplest part of what you need to do to start cleaning up your credit. There are many places that can give you your credit report. We prefer some of the free services out there that get you reports when you need them and can give you access to regular updates. It’s the best way to stay on top of something so critical as your financial name.

Analyzing Your Credit Report

Understanding exactly what your credit report says about you is easier than you might think. Here’s what you need to check:

• Check for inaccuracies or before they could negatively affect your credit profile.
• Find out why you’ve been denied or granted credit. The information on your credit report is the same information used by lenders concerning your credit.
• Find out who has been looking at your credit history lately. It could be credit card issuers, mortgage companies or even your employer.
• Make sure your credit report is complete and accurate before you apply for credit.
• Help protect yourself from possible credit fraud. Review your credit report carefully, any strange accounts or addresses may indicate possible fraud.

Putting Everything Into Motion

This is where the real work begins. With a little knowledge and perseverance, you can be well on your way to cleaning up your credit. Remember, credit bureaus aren’t always “warm and fuzzy” when you talk to them. Why? Because they don’t make money off of helping you. They make money off of providing reports to lenders. Here then, is the best way to approach what you have to do:

Put it in Writing

Recording what you do is vital when trying to clean up your credit report. The best way to do this is to keep a log. For each communication between you and a specific credit bureau, have something to back it up. Photocopy letters and checks. When on a phone conversation, get the name of the person you spoke with, along with their position, date and time you talked, and what you discussed. Also record anything they said they were going to do. Organize all this communication and keep it with your log.

So why do you need all this? Simply because you can often take two steps back for every one you take forward if you don’t have good records. Items that you’ve worked so hard to take off can reappear on reports. It’s the worst sort of “gotcha”. Save yourself a lot of headaches and document all your efforts. It’s a little up-front work that will really pay off.
Tip: Always mail things via certified or registered mail. Knowing when your communication is received can give you some firepower if credit bureaus don’t respond within a reasonable time frame.

Ranking Your Priorities

The best thing you can do is to have a plan of action. You’ve already analyzed your credit report, so you know what things can potentially be harmful. Now it’s time to rank what you want to clean up. Obviously, you want to start with the things that are most damaging to your credit.
Tip: As you’re ranking items, you may see duplicate items at the top of each credit bureau’s list. Unfortunately, this means you have to contact each credit bureau separately for each item.

Here is a general ranking you can use when looking at the severity of items listed (worst at top):

• Bankruptcy
• Foreclosure
• Repossession
• Default on loan
• Court judgments
• Collection items
• Past due/late payments
• Declined credit
• Credit inquiries

Deletion and Corrections

This is the heart of what you need to do to clean up your credit report. You’ve got your list prioritized. Now it’s time to get something done. What this entails is that you write a letter to the credit bureau asking a certain item be corrected or removed. Simple right? Dear Mr. So and So, I got my report, this item is incorrect, can you please reinvestigate, etc. Sometimes though, you need to know if the letter you’re writing will be a waste of time or not.

Certain items are severe enough that no correction is going to matter to your credit. They have to be removed completely to make a difference. These items include foreclosures, repossessions, collection items, court judgments, charge-offs, and settled accounts. Aim for a complete deletion or nothing on these items.

That being said, what are the hardest things to get removed? Because of easy verification, that would be bankruptcy and foreclosure. Credit lines always mention your bankruptcy. You have to get these lines cleared first, before having a hope a getting the bankruptcy removed.

Getting Results

Getting results is what you want out of this whole process. So what is it going to take? Well, sometimes it involves a little waiting, knowing about credit bureau regulations, and just how people operate at the other end. Your reinvestigation requests could be overlooked or misunderstood. To combat this, learn more about the frame of mind to have when asking a credit bureau to reinvestigate an item.

The Psychology of Credit Reports

No one likes being constantly needled about something. Credit bureaus are the same way. While they can’t obstruct your reinvestigation request, you’re likely to get better results if you give each dispute some time. Give at least 60 days between disputes covering the same item. Your patience often pays off.

How you approach your disputes is also important. If you go in as a bully, you’ll likely get nowhere. A better way to go about it is to focus on your situation as a wronged consumer. Gaining a sympathetic ear goes much further in cleaning up your credit. If your disputes are urgent, but framed as damaging and unfair, they will have a better chance of making it to the “top of the pile”.

Finally, you should always keep your cool. Your first few communication attempts should be polite, followed by more frustrated and threatening ones involving the specific dispute. Mentioning the use of things like the FTC, legal help, or your state’s Attorney General should only come as later motivators, if at all. Always be careful not overstep decency boundaries.

Knowing What’s Up

Sometimes the best way to fight for better credit is to know the law. The Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1997 is designed to protect you. Here are some things you should know about the responsibilities of credit bureaus:

• Consumer disputes have to be resolved within a 30-day time frame
• After information has been removed from a credit report, it can only be reinserted if the information is verified and the consumer is notified within 5 days
• First instance dispute information must be considered and transmitted to consumer if complaints arise that the dispute is being ignored
• Consumers will get written notice of a reinvestigation within 5 days of completion, along with a new credit report if it was changed

The Good, The Bad, and the Pretty

The good news is that there are always additional things you can do to help clean your credit. With court judgments, always look for technicalities that can get items removed from your credit reports. It’s best to involve legal help to do this. For collection items, you can also deal directly with the collection agency. Make them validate all the information concerning the credit report item. Remember, any inaccuracies mean you could have the item removed.

One thing to remember in attempting to clean up your credit report is that items can come back as “verified”. This means that a creditor may have simply said the disputed information was correct. Because they’ve done this, you now need to prove your case. If you haven’t done so already, send all the information you can to the credit bureau. They are required to pass the information on to the creditor. And if you don’t succeed, always try again. A different person at the creditor may come back with a different result.

Remember that credit bureaus remove unverifiable and inaccurate information from your credit report. If creditors don’t respond to a reinvestigation, credit bureaus see the disputed item as unverifiable. This protects you as a consumer. Armed with the information here, you should hopefully see a credit report that’s a little prettier. Negative items should turn to positive ones and your credit outlook should become a whole lot brighter.

Identity theft is not as simple as someone walking off with your credit card and buying a big-screen TV. Identity theft is fraud, but in a different way. While you can always cancel a credit card and recoup most or all of your loss, identity theft goes deeper. It’s the control over your name as a financial entity. This goes far beyond simple credit card charges.

Identity theft can include maxing out your credit cards, in addition to things like draining your checking and savings accounts, opening new credit accounts, buying cars or houses, going on trips to far off places, and getting a drivers license in your name. The most painful part about all of this is that you will be held liable for what thieves do with your name. Jobs opportunities can be lost, loans on houses and cars can be refused, and you can be arrested. You can spend years paying off debt you didn’t incur or sorting out a crime you didn’t commit.

Identity theft is a demoralizing, life changing event that often doesn’t end in justice. Those that go about stealing other people’s identity are rarely caught. This fact, combined with big payoffs, is prompting thieves to be more aggressive. Some have moved beyond looking through your trash for checks or trying to get your personal information over the phone to hacking into large corporate databases with millions of names.

Is ID Theft a Problem?

The simple answer is yes. Identity theft is a big problem. In fact, it’s a $53-billion-dollar problem that continues to grow. $5 billion of that is directly paid by people like you that are defrauded. The other $48 billion is passed on to you by businesses that are compelled to charge higher prices to cover their loss.

Vital information about identity theft:

• Every 3 seconds there is a new victim
• 19 victims each minute
• 1,140 per hour
• 27,400 per day
• 10,000,000 estimated this year

The 10 million estimated victims come directly from 206 million adults in the United States. More accurately, they come from 154 million people that are eligible for credit (about 75% of the adult population). And because identity theft is an ongoing problem, it is estimated that 20% of all Americans will be victims by the end of 2007. That’s one in five people.

High profile identity theft cases:

• CardSystems has 40 million credit and debit accounts compromised
• CitiFinancial loses 3.9 million customer records
• DSW Shoe Warehouse has information on 1.4 million credit cards, debit cards, and checking accounts stolen
• Bank of America loses a backup tape with credit card information for 1.2 million government workers

In a brief year, over 48 million identifying records on people just like you was stolen. And this only accounts for those records that were stolen in bulk. Stolen records on an individual level often go unreported. All this underscores the importance of knowing how identity theft happens and what you can do to prevent it.

How Does ID Theft Happen?

Identity theft can happen in a number of ways. Their methods range from digging through your trash to hacking into corporate databases. They can get information about you on a personal level, from your employer, or through other ways. It’s important to know how thieves go about stealing your identity so you can take appropriate steps to stop them.

Stealing Your Identity From You

The following are ways thieves can steal your identity on a personal level:

• “Skimming” your credit or debit card number by using a device to store it as your card is processed at a place of business
• Taking your purse or wallet
• Stealing your mail (bank or credit statements, new checks, credit offers, tax information)
• Breaking into your home and taking personal information
• “Pretexting” (phone) or “phishing” (internet) where thieves pose as a business or someone performing a survey to get personal information
• “Dumpster diving” by going through your trash (can also be done at your place of work)

Stealing Your Identity at Your Place of Work

The following are ways thieves can steal your identity at work:

• Hacking into company computers
• Bribing employees who have access to your records
• Stealing physical records
• Getting information directly from you by posing as someone else

Other Ways to Steal Your Identity

The following are additional ways thieves can steal your identity from you:

• Submitting a “change of address” form to the post office to get your mail
• Using their employers authorized access to your credit information
• Posing as someone like a landlord or employer that has the right to access your credit information

As you can see from the methods that ID thieves use, you can do things to prevent some, but not others. It’s important that you take the steps you can to prevent identity theft from happening to you and getting the help you need for the things that are out of your control.

How to Protect Yourself

Awareness and prevention are the best protection against identity theft. It’s interesting to note that only 15% of victims find out their identity has been stolen because they’ve taken positive action. The other 85% find out after the fact. It’s because of this that the average loss is so significant. On average, for cases that go unprosecuted, $16,000 is paid by victims, while the other $74,000 is paid by businesses.

Steps to Take in Protecting Your Identity

Being protective of your personal information is absolutely necessary in today’s world. Here are some steps you can take to do that:

1. Do not download software from websites you do not know
2. Use anti-virus and firewall software on your computer
3. Do not open email attachments unless you know the person and are expecting the file
4. Type all website addresses into your address bar instead of clicking on the link in the email
5. Use passwords that combine numbers and letters and commit them to memory
6. Do not give out your Social Security Number or other personal information
7. Do not put personal information on checks
8. Use a shredder on all financial documents before placing them in the trash
9. Get a locking mailbox or get all mail delivered to a post office box
10. Purchase low-cost identity theft protection

The things on this list may or may not be common sense to you. Used in combination, they can help to protect you against identity theft.

Identity Theft Protection

Identity theft protection is a new compressive service that costs very little and can make all the difference in protecting your identity. The following are some of the things included in this protection:

• Safeguards to put in place for prevention and detection
• Directions on how best to handle you physical documents
• Software recommendations for protecting your computer
• Scheduled and event-driven delivery of financial dossiers
• Alerts on any large scale identity theft
• $25,000 insurance against liability, legal costs, and lost productivity
• Individual support in case of ID theft, including a Recovery Advocate

An identity theft monitoring service is 24/7 peace of mind that goes a long way in protecting something that is difficult, if not impossible to get back—your identity. It’s a critical part of preventing identity theft and just as important as a seat belt or health insurance because of the devastating effect identity theft can have on your life.

For many, alerts are the most valuable part of the service. Get notified of new information that appears on your credit reports or public records. This includes loan, credit card, and bank account activity, as well as drivers license, Social Security Number, court, and employment record activity. This level of awareness helps you catch identity theft before it gets out of control, helps you minimize your liability, and gives authorities a better chance of catching those that are trying to defraud you.

Start protecting yourself today! Awareness and prevention are the best protection against identity theft.

Identifying information includes:

• Your name
• Your current and previous addresses
• Your Social Security number
• Your year of birth
• Your current and previous employers
• If you’re married, your spouse’s name

Credit information includes credit accounts or loans you have with:

• Banks
• Retailers
• Credit card issuers
• Other lenders

Public record information includes any information that is contained in state and county court records, like:

• Bankruptcies
• Tax liens
• Monetary judgments

Inquiries indicate to other credit providers that you have applied for new credit that could result in additional debt. Potential lenders view multiple recent inquiries on your credit report as a sign that you are over extending yourself.

Contact Information:

• Equifax
  Mail request to: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374
  Or call toll-free (800) 685-1111
• Experian
  Call toll-free (888) Experian (888-397-3742)
• TransUnion
  Mail request to: 2 Baldwin Place, P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022
  Or call toll-free (800) 888-4213

Most credit monitoring services will include reporting any of the following:

• Credit History Inquiries – Monitoring where inquiries originate can help in detecting unauthorized activities
• Newly Created Accounts – Reporting when any new credit account is opened in your name
• Credit Limit Increases – Credit limits can affect your credit score and ability to get a loan
• Accounts sent to Collection – Knowing any accounts in poor standing will give you the chance to fix any problems quickly
• Address Changes – In order to apply for credit, an identity thief may change the address of a victim to their own
• Other Account Information – Keeping appraised any status changes to your account is essential to retaining good credit status

3-Bureau credit score monitoring services will alert you to any unusual or suspicious activity with your credit.

• 35% – Payment History
• 30% – Amounts Owed
• 15% – Credit History Length
• 10% – Credit Types
• 10% – New Credit Requests

Payment History

• Total number of accounts
• Total number of negative records or accounts sent to collections
• Currently delinquent accounts including total number of past due items, how long payments have been past due, and time since last overdue payment

Amounts Owed

• Types of credit accounts with balances and the amount you currently owe on each
• Amount of total credit limit currently in use
• Loan payment requirements and their initial balances
• Number of accounts with no balance

Credit History Length

• Amount of time since your first credit account was opened
• Time since last credit request was made

Credit Types

• Types of credit reported (credit cards, personal loans, mortgages etc…)
• The mix of account types (some of each will benefit the score)

New Credit Requests

• Number of accounts recently opened and their proportion to total accounts
• Amount of recent credit inquiries
• Time since most recent credit inquiry

And depending on whether you are applying for an auto loan, a mortgage loan, or a loan for business or personal use, different lenders may apply different standards in rating your credit worthiness. For this reason, reading your credit report and understanding how your credit data might be interpreted may give you a chance to improve your credit worthiness from the point of view of a lender. The most common calculation for credit scores is called a Fico score from Fair Isaac’s Corporation.

Credit Report Check

• Check for inaccuracies or before they could negatively affect your credit profile.
• Find out why you have been denied or granted credit. The information on your credit report is the same information used by lenders concerning your credit.
• Find out who has been looking at your credit history lately. It could be credit card issuers, mortgage companies or even your employer.
• Make sure your credit report is complete and accurate before you apply for credit.
• Help protect yourself from possible credit fraud. Review your credit report carefully, any strange accounts or addresses may indicate possible fraud.

3 Bureau Online Credit Report & 3 Credit Scores

Get the most complete personal credit information available. You will know where your credit stands no matter which bureau your lender uses to check your credit history.

• Combines your credit information from all 3 credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, & TransUnion) into one easy-to-read report.
• Indicators of Possible Credit Fraud.