22
Aug
Understanding Credit Rating
Posted by , under Credit Canada
Gary Bunn asked:
Your credit report is the one piece of financial information on which you will be judged on forever! This is the one piece of personal information that will determine if you are accepted or turned down for every credit application you make in your entire life. Its not surprise then that having a poor or damaged credit report can be a real worry.
Its not only used in the decision to grant you credit, but it also effects the terms of your agreements. For example do you have to pay a deposit? What interest rate will you be offered? Will you qualify for a better deal? Do you need a second person to be a guarantor? Almost every decision regarding financial credit facilities is decided using the information on your credit report.
Even though most of us understand just how important our credit rating is, sometimes we still end up in difficult situations which reflect badly on our credit files. That’s just life and sometimes it’s simply unavoidable. Perhaps you’ve noticed errors on your credit report or maybe there’s incorrect information recorded against your name? Damaged credit can happens due to a huge variety of reasons, so it’s not something you ought to be ashamed of. What’s important now is getting your report back on track..
The first step you must take to begin repairing your credit file is to get hold of a current copy of your credit report. You can get a free copy of your credit report from all 3 major companies here. You’ll then need to spend some time reading through your file and highlighting any errors or information you think might be incorrect or misleading. This may take an hour or so, so grab a coffee, sit down and get to work!
Next you’ll need to make the credit referencing agencies aware that you are disputing some of the information on your report. You’ll find contact details for each agency on the credit report itself. It’s really simple to contact them and you can normally do this online. They will then be obliged to investigate the issues you’ve highlighted. Normally these agencies are quite helpful. After all it’s in their best interests to have the most accurate information possible.
Now it’s time to contact the companies on your file that claim you owe them money. This may be a debt from years ago or it could be a more recent debt, for this purpose it doesn’t matter, anything that shows as a debt needs to be addressed. Write a short letter to the companies shown on your file asking them to validate your debt with them. They are legally obligated to send you proof of this within 30 days. Make sure you keep copies of the letters you write for future reference. If they cannot or do not comply within the allotted 30 days, they are legally required to delete you from their systems and the credit referencing agencies will remove the entries from your file. You’d be surprised how many companies can not provide you with this proof because of poor record keeping!
Now you will be in a position to see exactly how much you owe and to whom. Contact the outstanding creditors and make offers on repayments, you do not need to clear the debt in full in one go if you do not have the cash available. Companies are very helpful when it comes to arranging repayments you can afford. Your payments will then begin to show on your credit report within a month or so, instantly beginning to strengthen your report. Keep making repayments you can afford and stay in touch with the companies you owe, this way your report will reflect on time payments, your debt will decrease and most importantly your credit rating will improve with every passing month!
You can get hold of your Free Instant Credit Report here today if you’d like to know what’s on your file.
Susan
Your credit report is the one piece of financial information on which you will be judged on forever! This is the one piece of personal information that will determine if you are accepted or turned down for every credit application you make in your entire life. Its not surprise then that having a poor or damaged credit report can be a real worry.
Its not only used in the decision to grant you credit, but it also effects the terms of your agreements. For example do you have to pay a deposit? What interest rate will you be offered? Will you qualify for a better deal? Do you need a second person to be a guarantor? Almost every decision regarding financial credit facilities is decided using the information on your credit report.
Even though most of us understand just how important our credit rating is, sometimes we still end up in difficult situations which reflect badly on our credit files. That’s just life and sometimes it’s simply unavoidable. Perhaps you’ve noticed errors on your credit report or maybe there’s incorrect information recorded against your name? Damaged credit can happens due to a huge variety of reasons, so it’s not something you ought to be ashamed of. What’s important now is getting your report back on track..
The first step you must take to begin repairing your credit file is to get hold of a current copy of your credit report. You can get a free copy of your credit report from all 3 major companies here. You’ll then need to spend some time reading through your file and highlighting any errors or information you think might be incorrect or misleading. This may take an hour or so, so grab a coffee, sit down and get to work!
Next you’ll need to make the credit referencing agencies aware that you are disputing some of the information on your report. You’ll find contact details for each agency on the credit report itself. It’s really simple to contact them and you can normally do this online. They will then be obliged to investigate the issues you’ve highlighted. Normally these agencies are quite helpful. After all it’s in their best interests to have the most accurate information possible.
Now it’s time to contact the companies on your file that claim you owe them money. This may be a debt from years ago or it could be a more recent debt, for this purpose it doesn’t matter, anything that shows as a debt needs to be addressed. Write a short letter to the companies shown on your file asking them to validate your debt with them. They are legally obligated to send you proof of this within 30 days. Make sure you keep copies of the letters you write for future reference. If they cannot or do not comply within the allotted 30 days, they are legally required to delete you from their systems and the credit referencing agencies will remove the entries from your file. You’d be surprised how many companies can not provide you with this proof because of poor record keeping!
Now you will be in a position to see exactly how much you owe and to whom. Contact the outstanding creditors and make offers on repayments, you do not need to clear the debt in full in one go if you do not have the cash available. Companies are very helpful when it comes to arranging repayments you can afford. Your payments will then begin to show on your credit report within a month or so, instantly beginning to strengthen your report. Keep making repayments you can afford and stay in touch with the companies you owe, this way your report will reflect on time payments, your debt will decrease and most importantly your credit rating will improve with every passing month!
You can get hold of your Free Instant Credit Report here today if you’d like to know what’s on your file.
Susan
