Have you recently checked your credit report to discover that you have bad credit? Are you ready to do something to improve it? There are many steps you can take to improve your credit and get back in the good graces of creditors and lenders. However, it is important to know what those steps are, as some will do more damage than good should you not do them properly. Consider the following mistakes that are made in credit repair.
1. If you discover unauthorized charges and errors on your credit report, do not dispute too many at once. Send a dispute letter request for correction from the bureau that issued the report. If you, however, find several errors in different accounts you should not try to dispute them all at the same time. Are you asking, why? The strongest reason is because the bureau may not take your disputes seriously. Secondly, it is possible that the bureau will investigate just one account. In order to make sure that all the errors are addressed and corrected you need to dispute each separately.
2. This is another error that credit repairers make: receiving help from the wrong debt relief organization. If you have researched at all, you are aware there are a lot of credit relief companies out there. Unfortunately not all are reputable. Some agencies will take advantage of the situation you are in charging hidden fees or a service charge that is unreasonable. To be sure you are dealing with a reputable company check the background and reputation of the company.
3. Closure of credit card accounts. Closure of a credit card account is not always the best decision and should be done with care. Suppose if you cancel your credit card while it has a balance, you are actually creating more damage to your credit. Furthermore, if you happen to have possessed the card over a long length of time, closing the account could man deleting a large part of your credit history.
4. Consolidating your credit card debt. Should you consider consolidating your credit cards, there are a few things you should consider first. First, this can be a very wise decision, however: It is important to make certain that the credit card in which you are having your debts transferred to does not have unreasonable fees and that the interest rate of the card is reasonable as well, even after the introductory period. If you are transferring to a zero rate period you must pay down the debt prior to its expiration.
5. Do not use registered mail when sending letters. When it is necessary to send a letter to a credit bureau or creditor you should always send it First Class Mail. This is a way to ensure that the recipient has received your letter and you also have proof.
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