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Fix Wrong Information In Your Credit Report — TODAY (Page 1 of 2)
Other than eating, sleeping, and breathing, one of the most important things you should be doing on a regular basis is ensuring that the data in your credit report is accurate. That is such a simple statement, yet it is ignored by the vast majority of consumers, probably due to several factors, such as:
* Consumers seem to accept the fact that errors will self correct in a reasonable period of time, where in reality nothing could be further from the truth.
* Consumers dont know how to find out if there is wrong information on their credit report, which impacts their total credit score negatively.
* Consumers dont realize that having a low credit score (lower than what they deserve, if the information maintained by the credit bureaus was accurate) can impact a huge number of factors in their everyday lives.
* Consumers dont realize that studies have shown that the MAJORITY of credit reports on consumers and businesses have errors and inaccuracies.
Your credit score is used by anyone loaning you money such as credit card companies, home loan lenders, auto loan lenders and finance companies. You need to find out what your credit score is before you talk to any lender in case there is something on your report that they may question. Your credit score is the actual number ranging from 300 to 850 that lenders use to judge your creditworthiness and the interest rate theyll charge you. Having a credit score lower than what you actually deserve could mean the difference between getting approved for a loan or credit card, or being denied. If you are approved, a lower credit score can mean the difference of the lender assessing a 14% interest rate or a 6% interest rate, which can cost you hundreds and even thousands of dollars more at the end of the loan period.
The big three credit bureaus are required to give you a free copy of your credit report annually, or any time that you have been denied credit based on information that they provided to a potential lender. It may take some time to get through to the credit bureaus to request a copy of your credit report, but this is well worth your time to do so. Be sure to get a copy of it from all three of them, since some lenders only report to one or two of them. This means that the information on your credit report from one credit bureau is almost certainly not going to be identical to the data from another credit bureau.
If you notice any errors on your report, you should complete a dispute form with the credit bureau. When they send you a copy of your credit report, they will usually include instructions on how to file a dispute for erroneous or inaccurate information. Some experts say that if you are disputing say 5 different items, you should file 5 separate dispute forms so each one can be addressed specifically. There is some merit to that discussion, since the credit bureaus may view a dispute consisting of many items as frivolous and not take appropriate action to correct the information.
Getting the Best Unsecured Loans
You might think that you can’t control what rates lenders will offer you, which is true to an extent, but there is actually a lot of things both small and large that you can do to improve your application and your search that will help you find the best unsecured loans offers.
The first thing you want to do, which may seem a little off course, is get a copy of your credit report. You can do this free online once a year. The report will not show you what your score is, but it will show you all the information used to calculate your score. First check this over for errors, such as closed accounts marked overdue or open, or your credit limit marked lower than what it really is. An important factor in your score is the credit available to you versus the amount you have used so you want this to be as high as possible. If you have any high card balances that you are able to pay down, do that! This will help your score greatly.
While your score is an important factor, there are still more things to consider. Have you lived at the same place, and had the same employer, for the last few years? This shows a lender that you are a stable customer and is something you’ll want to point out on your application. If you’ve had financial problems in the past caused by a specific factor that no longer exists, such as medical bills, student loans, or a divorce, you’ll also want to point this out. You don’t want to focus on this for too long, but a short two or three sentence explanation will help, lenders will take this into consideration.
When you go to start your loan search, whether you plan to use an online lender or a local lender, I recommend doing a brief internet search. I recommend looking at five sites and looking at their rates and their terms and conditions. This will give you an idea of what to expect while shopping around for the best offer. A lot of customers only look at the rates, which lenders know, so they often hide a lot of fees in their terms, so do make sure to read them over.
If you work on cleaning up your application to present yourself in the best light, and do a search through five lenders offers, you’ll be on your way to finding the best unsecured loan for your situation.