Some people believe a few small damages or mistakes on their credit report are not a big deal; this could not be further from the truth. It is imperative that a person repairs their credit report, as credit at one time or another will be needed. In fact, some employers will even look at a [...]
Credit Repair
Making a major purchase, like buying a house or financing a new car, can be a difficult process. It can be made much harder for the buyer when their credit report comes back with black marks on it. When a prospective lender sees information in a credit report that indicates that a borrower is a credit risk, the lender will impose additional fees on the loan, raise the interest rate or maybe even decide to cancel the process altogether and not approve the loan. Late payments, loan defaults and courts judgments are just a few factors that can adversely affect your credit score. When the score is too low, lenders get wary and the borrower ends up penalized.
But What if the Credit Report is Wrong?
The credit reporting agencies don’t research your statement of credit for inaccuracies. When your possible lender obtains your credit report through an agency such as Veda Advantage Consumer Credit, Veda takes no responsibility and makes no guarantee of the accuracy of the report. Their job is only to gather the information given to them by your creditors, assemble it all into a credit report, and forward it to the lender or other business that is requesting it. This means that any errors made by your creditors are assembled into your credit report, lowering your score and making you a less desirable loan consumer. This will definitely affect your loan terms, if you are able to get a loan at all.
The burden of accuracy in your credit report is completely on banks, and they do make mistakes. In this age of automation of administrative tasks, it is easy for the bill you paid on time to be lost or possibly applied to the wrong account. Maybe communication issues between branches of these increasingly larger banking organizations caused your payment to be made late. Worst case scenario: you could have been the victim of fraud or identity theft and your bank didn’t notice strange transactions. The point is this: by the time errors become known to you, usually in the next billing cycle – you hope—your credit has been damaged. This is when it becomes important to understand the concept of credit repair.
The first step in credit repair is understanding the damage that has been done. It is important to obtain a copy of your credit report on a regular basis to keep tabs on your overall credit health. If you only find out about the state your credit is in when you apply for a loan, that’s too late. Subscription styles services are available for a small fee that can allow you to receive your credit report more often. It’s a small price to pay for the peace of mind of knowing exactly where you stand.
After you know exactly what’s wrong, the next step in credit repair in cases of lender errors is fixing the mistakes. Overdue accounts, late payments, loan defaults, judgments against you are some of the negative factors you may see. If any of these are in error, it is vital to contact the original lender right away. Organize any supporting documentation, including bank records and receipts and contact the lender. When you get in touch with the lender – bank, credit card company, etc – request that they connect you with their dispute department. Work with the bank’s representatives regarding each item you are disputing. Be sure to send copies, not the originals, or all your support documents by certified post to ensure that you have complete records of all communication with the bank regarding this dispute.
Remember, creditors are bound by law to investigate and fix any damage to your credit report caused by errors on their part. It is crucial to stay on top of your credit score, stay informed, and pursue your creditors when ever and erroneous black mark appears on your credit report.
