Get to Know Your Credit

The first thing you’ll want to do is to get a copy of your credit report. You can get a free copy of your credit score report from AnnualCreditReport.com. This website is authorized by the government to provide free copies of your credit report once every 12 months.

You can also sign up with a credit monitoring company, like The Ascent Network. Credit monitoring helps you get to know your credit score, gives you tips on how to increase it, and often shows you qualifying loan or credit card offers. Credit monitoring companies also flag suspicious activity and notify you of any unauthorized use of your social security number.

 

 

What to do About Credit Errors?

Next, you’ll want to check for errors in your credit report. Check the entire report looking for a name, address, and contact information mistakes. If you find errors, you need to dispute them through the credit report showing the error. The addresses to mail dispute letters to Experian, Equifax, and Transunion are here.

In your dispute letter, ask the credit bureau to remove or correct the inaccurate or incomplete information. Explain clearly what needs to be changed. Make sure you have copies of each letter and send the letter certified mail for tracking that it was received.

The credit bureau has 30 days to respond to your request. Once they complete their investigation, they must give you the results in writing.

 

Removing Closed Accounts from Your Credit Report

Many people think that a closed credit account will automatically be dropped from a credit report. Credit bureaus only remove information from a credit report if it’s outdated, or inaccurate, or if a creditor agrees to remove it.

Some closed credit accounts can hurt your credit. If an account is closed and paid off but has delinquent payments or a charge-off, you can write a goodwill letter to the creditor and ask the account to be removed. Creditors do not have to honor your request, but there have been cases when a company is kind enough to do so after a paid balance.

There is also an option for credit accounts that are closed but have a balance. In these cases, you can send a pay-for-delete letter, which is an offer to pay the balance in full in exchange for removing the account from the credit report. Again, the creditor does not have to comply, but, often, they will consider the exchange for full payment.

The last option is to simply wait. Most items on a person’s credit report drop off after seven years. If a negative account is still on your report after the seven-year mark, you can try to dispute the account and have it removed.

Hire a Credit Repair Company

Credit repair companies often have a negative reputation because of fraudulent companies in the past taking advantage of already-struggling consumers. The Ascent Network is different. Ascent is a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide clients with access to resources and services designed to assist individuals in improving their creditworthiness and financial position. You can find the Ascent Network Bill of Rights here.

Ascent Network is a member of the SecureTrust Trusted Commerce program. They provide services for credit repair, credit score improvement, debt settlement and negotiation, foreclosure prevention, and educational loan negotiation.

Financial Improvement is Just Around the Corner

A more positive outlook toward a more financially secure future starts today. Give the Ascent Network a call today at 1-877-871-2400. Ascent Network helps consumers all over the United States and is available locally in Huntington Beach, CA, Coachella Valley, Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio, and Thousand Palms.