Top Tips and Tricks to Managing Your Credit

Can a Poor Credit Report be Fixed?

You may have heard about the benefits of refinancing your car loan. With little effort, you could end up saving hundreds or even thousands over the life of your loan. But, what if you have tried to refinance but have gotten turned down because of your less-than-stellar credit score?

It’s easy to despair over a downturn in your credit, but it’s much more productive to do something about it! As frustrating as it is, having ups and downs in your score is not that unusual. However, it’s a mistake to just accept this truth as gospel and give up on your hopes of refinancing.

 

The first step is to make sure these reports are even accurate. Every U.S. citizen is legally entitled to review their credit report for free each year at each of the major credit bureaus—Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. The report lists your previous addresses, phone numbers and payment status on your credit cards, home mortgages, home equity lines of credits and other debts.

There are dozens of ways a mistake could be made. So, it’s a good idea for everyone to check their report quarterly, whether you are applying for credit or not. It’s better to find problems early on rather than letting them catch you by surprise down the road.  The list of mistakes or problems could include:

• Credit activity that was committed fraudulently.
• Payments mailed but not received or recorded.
• Account delinquencies more than seven years old.
• Inclusion of debts from ex-spouses or others you are not responsible for.
• Closed accounts that continue to be listed.

What to do if Inaccurate Information is Found

If you find inaccurate information on your report, the next step is to disclose these issues to the credit bureaus so they can correct them. The company is required by law to investigate disputes and update you and the other major credit bureaus. It’s important to fight any impulse you may have to let things slide, though the process may seem like a lot of bureaucratic effort. It’s well worth your while to spend time working through these errors now and checking your credit frequently to follow up. Ongoing monitoring services are available for this purpose.

Those who don’t have the time or ability to work through these issues on their own can turn to an outside credit repair service for help.  These services can communicate with credit bureaus on your behalf and work to remove incorrect items. But, remember that their role is not to remove unfavorable information that is actually correct.

Changing your habits is the most important thing you can do. Be sure to start paying your bills on time, every time. At some point in time—seven years for most items—the time limit for posting these negative items will pass and they eventually will be removed from your report automatically, providing you with much more financial freedom. With this freedom, you are now more likely to be approved for auto refinancing. Get Started Now on refinancing your auto loan.