Know Your Rights

It’s easy to be a spend thrift and max out your credit card, but it can also be troublesome, especially when you find yourself rejected for a purchase because of an incorrect credit report. Most large purchases require a credit check and as such it is really the responsibility of the individual to stay abreast on his or her credit score. The good thing is that every person is entitled to a free credit report if you find yourself in a situation where a company is trying to take adverse action against you. For anyone who receives an unflattering credit notice, you have up to 60 days of receiving the notice to take action. Running a credit report yourself is something that you can easily do at little or no cost. Let’s delve into how best to handle disputing an incorrect credit claim.

Take Action

If you are served with a credit report that you know to be untrue then it is up to you to do some further investigation in order to prove that you are in good credit standing. The first step is to inform the credit reporting company of all of the inaccuracies in the credit report. This should be done in writing and also be combined with copies of documents that support your claim. It’s important that you only send copies of the supported documents and not the originals. It is also recommended to enclose a copy of the credit report with the areas in question highlighted or marked in red ink. It typically will take about 30 days for you to hear a response from the credit report company. After this time, if anything must be changed in the report as a result of your dispute, the credit report company must then send notices of any correction to anyone who received the report in the past six months.

Owning Any Negative Info

Should any of the negative information contained in the credit report hold true, there is no easy way to make it disappear. Only time and reformed credit action can truly make it vanish from your report. The best way to handle any negative information is to change your credit spending habits by staying within your allotted spending threshold and also paying your bills on time. A credit reporting company is able to report most accurate negative information for up to seven years.

Reform Your Credit

Whether you have always had good credit or are looking for ways to alter your credit score for the better, it’s up to the individual to take ownership for his/her own credit card expenditures. There are a number of credit repair companies that are able to help you manage your credit card debt. Specifically, these credit counseling organizations are able to provide advice on managing money, developing a budget and also offer free education materials and workshops. The bottom-line is that your credit score is your responsibility and therefore should be taken seriously.