ABOUT CREDIT REPORTS

Have you seen what your credit report says about you lately?

Get your credit report today - it’s FREE when you sign up for a FREE trial of the CreditCheck Monitoring Service! Whether you’re planning on making a big purchase in the near future, applying for a new job, or looking to rent an apartment, you owe it to yourself to understand your current credit position.

Step 1: Get your FREE credit report so you can:

See what your lender sees
Identify possible credit inaccuracies
Keep track of the companies who have looked at your information

Step 2: Take advantage of the CreditCheck Monitoring Service. And try it FREE for 30 days! It alerts you to changes on your report, including:

New derogatory information
Recent credit inquiries
Indicators of possible credit fraud

But it doesn’t stop there! You also receive:

Information and updates from credit experts
Credit dispute forms and helpful tips
Neighborhood and home sales reports
Assistance in accessing your DMV, Medical Information Bureau, and SS records
Unlimited FREE credit reports (with your regular membership)

Try it today for FREE and get your FREE credit report!

What the Credit Bureaus Don't Tell You

1. Each item on your credit report must be proven or it cannot remain in the report. If the credit bureau cannot verify the item when investigated, it must be removed from your file whether or not it's true.

2. Every negative entry on your report can be denied or challenged at any time. The bureau must reinvestigate and if that item cannot be verified within a "reasonable amount of time", it must be removed from the file.

3. Items when challenged can be mistakenly erased. Consumers say they often experience computer operator mistakes.

4. Many times the creditor does not re-verify in time or the credit bureau is busy and does not handle your dispute properly. It must then be deleted.

5. The older an item, the more difficult re-verification is. It is possible it cannot be verified because records may no longer exist after 1 or 2 years.

Steps to Repair Your Credit

1. Obtain your three credit reports.

2. Review the reports and locate the negative items.

3. Dispute the negative items with the credit bureaus.

4. Disputed items are removed or corrected. Items that were not re-verified are removed.

5. Negotiate with creditors and collection companies.

6. After negotiating and making payment, creditors delete the negative accounts or change them to a positive rating.

7. State the item you are disputing, but do not use dispute forms or file numbers provided by the bureau. This will cause fewer delays by the credit bureau asking for clarification.

8. Do not confirm the account if any information about the item is wrong.

9. Do not use letterhead (you don't want to raise any Red Flags).

10. Do not photocopy a fill in the blanks form letter (another Red Flag).

11. Send disputes during busy times of the year. For Example: The first to middle of November can cause a delay in verification because of Thanksgiving. Christmas rush for the creditor and the bureau can catch them before they can thoroughly investigate within a reasonable time.

Identity Theft

This issue alone is reason to order your credit report immediately. Identity theft is an insidious crime, involving a thief who assumes your name to open new accounts, divert your card statements to another address, and run up all sorts of bad debt without you ever knowing about it until collectors come calling. Over time, identity theft could jeopardize your ability to obtain further credit. The best way to catch a thief who is using your name is by getting a copy of your credit report, which will show you if there are accounts listed you know you haven't opened. For example, if a thief has intercepted a pre-approved credit card offer in your name and sent it in with a change of address, your credit report will include the account.