Credit repair
and why it can help you

Credit cards. This is a subject of many polarizing opinions. It is considered by some as a great aid – a useful tool when short on cash or if you do not like carrying around hard cash on you for fear of it being stolen or misplaced. A credit card is also a useful tool when attempting to make big purchases because the card holder can either defer payment into monthly installments, or make the purchase now (especially if there is an irresistible offer that will end soon) and then just pay for it when the billing statement arrives. But there is also a downside to a credit card. It is subject to an intense amount of abuse. There are those who charge purchases indiscriminately, and before they know it they have already maxed out their credit card and have no means to actually pay for the accumulated purchases. So what they do is to pay for it in installments. But then even with the installment option (which, by the way, is imposed an interest rate which means that a certain percentage is put back into your total amount due for you to pay) the compounded expenses become too much that the payment of bills are neglected. The late payments or non payment of the bills does not necessarily mean that the problem ends there. These actions actually have other consequences that can have a bigger effect especially in the future. The most significant effect of a negligence to pay bills and credit card payments is that it negatively affects the credit history of the credit card holder. This negative performance is then recorded on the credit history of the person. The credit history can be seen by all kinds of financial institutions and this forms the basis of their decision on whether to give approval to loans or impose higher interest rates to applicants who have bad credit.

But then the credit history is not exactly an infallible instrument. It may surprise you to find out that even a financial instrument as widely used as the credit record of a person can be subject to errors that could ultimately become costly because a bad rating could mean the person will not be given a loan, or if approved for a loan, will be imposed with a higher interest rates. Most alarming though is the study that almost 50 per cent of credit records contain factual errors! Wouldn’t you want to get your credit record to be factually correct and not be filled?
The best solution for correcting any problem involving wrong entries in the credit record is to subject your credit history to credit repair. This is a process in which you contest certain entries on your credit record. What you are basically contesting are erroneous information – incorrect entries, missing payments, and the like. For example, many commercial establishments have a tendency to lose information with regards to late payments. This means that even though you may have already paid it may still be noted in your credit record that you defaulted on the payment, which has a very negative effect on your credit history. Disputing this erroneous information will compel the credit reporting bureau to correct the entry once it is proven that you are correct in your dispute. Even good credit payments or entries can sometimes be overlooked and you may not find entries with regards to this on your credit record, which could help improve your credit score.
Disputing erroneous or missing information on your credit record is an essential part of your responsibilities as an individual. The whole process is actually deceptively simple not as complicated as some people may describe it.

First, you should make a list of all of the entries or debts that you want to challenge or verify. After identifying all of the entries, you should then write a letter addressed to the credit reporting bureau asking them to look into the items that you are disputing. The credit bureau will now contact the bank or credit company that is responsible for the putting in the erroneous information and ask them to check their records again. Within 30 to 45 days you will receive a notification with regards to the result of your dispute. This notice will include the findings and the decision after the investigation as well as an updated credit file if there are changes that need to reflected in your record.

Undergoing credit repair is very useful and beneficial to you because eliminating erroneous information can actually result in your credit score improving. A high credit score means that your loan applications are more likely to be approved and that the interest rates imposed on you will also be lower. The benefits really far outweigh the perceived “inconveniences” of going through the credit repair process.