Having a good credit rating is vital if you want to apply for credit cards, loans or mortgages without being knocked back. However far too many people have missed a payment or two to a creditor in the past, leaving them with negative entries on their credit report.
Once you have a poor credit report, you'll suddenly realize just what a problem it can be. You'll find it difficult to get a credit card or loan, unless you're willing to pay very high interest rates or fees. This will make it hard for you to shop online, perhaps buy a car, and almost impossible to buy a home. It may also affect your ability to rent or buy goods on store credit, and even renting a car can be tricky.
So if you're aware that there are problems with your credit history, the sooner you take steps to repair your credit, the better. The first step is to obtain a copy of your credit report from your credit bureau. There are only a handful of these, and if you have a copy of a letter declining a credit application, the agency that holds your file should be listed there.
Legally the credit reporting agency must provide you with a copy of your credit report for free. If you want to get it immediately, you can do so for a fee, and view it online. Otherwise, download the application, include the necessary identifying information, and post it to the agency. You will receive your credit report by mail in return.
Now you have your report, spend some time going through it carefully. If you spot anything that's inaccurate or wrong, then query it with the credit bureau immediately. You should do this in writing. They have 30 days to investigate the entry and provide documentation to prove that it's correct. If they can't do this, it must be removed.
If you have any documentation supporting your query, then send it with your claim. It can sometimes happen that a credit bureau will get you mixed up with someone else. It doesn't happen very often, mind you, but it's possible. You can also request that the credit agency mark the entry as "under investigation", so that anyone else who accesses your file can see the item is disputed.
Although it takes some time and patience to get a copy of your credit history and go through it, this is the most important part of the credit repair process. If you don't know what negative entries are on your credit history, how can you rectify them? It's no good just knowing your credit is "bad" - you need to know how bad and why. Sometimes removing a couple of incorrect entries may be enough to get you back into good credit territory again.
Improve your credit by obtaining a free credit report at free-online-instant-credit-report.info, a popular website that offers free credit reports, advice on solving credit report disputes and information on improving your credit score.
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