Repair Credit? Repair Credit Scores? Is it Worth all the Extra Effort?

Click the image to view the PDF document. Or, to download it, right click the image,
and select 'save target/link as . . .'

You should check your credit reports and official credit scores at least once a year, or more often, when you are preparing for a large purchase, such as a home or car.

If you haven't seen your credit reports and credit scores in the past ninety days, you should go to www.creditreportstogo.com - their credit reports and format are simple to read and understand, and unlike other sites, they offer official credit scores. (Meaning, scores that lenders recognize as legitimate and will use for lending.)

Once you have the credit report and scores, you need to analyze it.

It's not hard to do. To repair credit and repair credit scores you will need to look for both obvious and subtle errors. Don't assume that small errors don't hurt you. Examine everything; Go through trade lines, look at the payment history, balance and credit limits. Make a list of every error or recent change.

The most common type of error to repair are mistakes associated with your name, your address, previous addresses and employment history. Often a misspelled name or incorrect address can result in someone else's credit items showing on your credit report.

Another common error is credit items that belong to family members appearing on your credit report.

Spouses, ex-spouses and children are a major example of what causes credit report errors, identity theft and confusion of reporting data. It's a common practice for parents to name their children after themselves, such as junior, senior, and so forth. But this also leads to children and parents, and spouses inheriting each others credit items, both good and bad.

Joint accounts between spouses or children should appear on both of their credit reports, not just one or the other. Are you sure it was a joint account, or is it an error? If it is your spouses or child's credit item, and there is a late payment on your credit, but the account is not a joint account, then it is not accurate.

Spouses, ex-spouses and children are a major example of what causes credit report errors, identity theft and confusion of reporting data.

Also look for inaccurate late payments. If your monthly payment was due on January 10th and you did not make your January payment until February 1st, yes you are late, but you are not 30 days late or more. If the creditor has reported you as 30 days late and it was actually 29, that is an error and the law states it must be removed. It's also a common practice for creditors and banks to charge you a late fee.

They also go one step further and charge you a late fee, for not paying a late fee in a timely manner. It's not legal in most states, but it happens frequently. If your monthly payment was due on January 10th and you did not make your January payment until February 1st, yes you are late, but you are not 30 days late or more.

If You Were Not 30 Days Late or More, But Your Report Shows You as Late, it's Not Accurate or Legal.

Look for balance and credit limit changes.

Scrutinize everything because it all has an impact on your credit rating and credit scores. It is a common practice for credit card companies and banks to drop your credit limit. This will affect your balance-to-credit limit ratio which governs 30% of your credit score.

If your balance is more than 25% of your credit limit, you need to pay down your debts repair your credit score.

You need to pay down your debts repair your credit score. Or, ask your lender to increase your credit limit.

Look for collection accounts and public records.

To repair credit and repair credit scores, you must address all collection accounts and public records such as judgments and liens. These are among the most damaging of items. Yes, you may have been sued and yes a judge may have heard your case. That doesn't mean the item is reported accurately, and if it's not accurate, it is not allowed by law to be placed on your credit history. The most common error of this kind is not reporting a judgment or a lien as satisfied, meaning paid off.

It is true that a paid off negative item is better than an unpaid negative item. Paying off an item does not change it from negative to positive. However, it is better to not have the negative item on your report at all. So if it's not correctly reported, try to get the item removed, not just corrected.

Collections & Public Records:

Judgments
Liens
Foreclosures
Collection Agencies
Delinquent Accounts
Paid off, But Not Reported $0

To repair credit and repair credit scores, you must address all collection accounts and public records such as judgments and liens.

Correcting a public record is useless.

It's kind of like being convicted of a crime, and correcting it is like being put on parole. It is better that the conviction, (or negative credit item) not appear on your report at all. If the bureaus won't take off the item, you may want to consult your attorney to petition the court to have the public record expunged, which can be expensive. (Applies only to judgments and liens). Having an unpaid judgment is not a crime, but it can make you a high credit risk

If you cannot afford an attorney to do this for you, you should hire an affordable credit repair company to repair credit and repair credit scores. Credit bureaus don't like to repair credit or to repair credit scores. They make money by selling your information, and banks make even more money and charge higher interest rates to people who have late payments and other derogatory remarks.

Credit bureaus also play word games with the credit reporting laws.

They define the word "Accurate" as an item that has been verified at the source, after it has been challenged. So by their definition of accurate, it could be said that nothing on your credit report is accurate until they verify the information with the source, after you challenge it's accuracy.

Repairing your credit and credit scores is worth it.

In today's economy, you need to have the best credit rating and credit scores to get the best rates on loans, and insurance, and even to get a better paying job. You can do it on your own, it is just tedious and requires effort and determination. If you don't have the time to do it yourself, hire an affordable credit repair company.

The Cost of Bad Credit:

Banks Charge Higher Interest, You Pay More
Insurance Charges Higher Rates, You Pay More
Employers Reject Your Application, You Earn Less
Your Spouse Calls it Quits, They Take Your Stuff