Credit Report Repair

How to Put a Fraud Alert on Your Credit Report and Get Free Identity Theft Protection

With growing awareness of identity and data theft, people are becoming increasingly concerned with identity theft protection. Many services offer to help you monitor and protect your identity - for a fee. The truth of the matter is that you don't need to pay for identity protection; you can do it yourself for free and be confident that you've taken the necessary steps to protect your identity. One of the key ways to protect your identity is to put a fraud alert on your credit report.

How to Easily Remove a Fraud Alert from Your Credit Report

What is a fraud alert?
A fraud alert is a statement that goes on your credit report asking lenders to contact you at a phone number you designate before they issue new credit. Fraud alerts are designed to protect you from identity theft if you fear that your personal information has been compromised. With a fraud alert in place, the issuing credit company should call you prior to issuing new credit. However, anecdotal evidence indicates that some lenders are so eager to get new customers that they fail to initiate this verification process, or don't verify until after the credit has been issued. For this reason, some consumers use a credit freeze instead of a fraud alert to protect their credit reports. What most people fail to realize is that placing a fraud alert on your credit report has unexpected consequences, so a time may come when you need to remove a fraud alert from your credit report.

How to Easily Remove Late Payments from Your Credit Report

Many consumers have a few late payments on their credit reports. It's not uncommon for a temporary financial hardship to result in a 30 or 60 day late payment. As long as your late payments are few and far between, they won't have a terribly adverse affect on your credit report. It's when you get past a 60 day late payment, or have repeated periods of late payments, when you need to worry about how a late payment affects your credit report.

How to Quickly Remove a Bankruptcy from Your Credit Report

In a world of inflated mortgage payments, uncertain job climates and rising gas prices, bankruptcies are a fact of life. Most borrowers worry that filing for bankruptcy will prevent you from ever buying a home or getting credit again in the future. Fortunately, though, that's not the case - there are a number of ways in which you can repair your credit after a bankruptcy and qualify for new loans and credit cards. You can work to re-establish good credit after a bankruptcy, and in some cases, you can even remove bankruptcy from your credit report.

Remove Liens from Your Credit Report Fast

A number of things can cause a lien on your credit report, but all of them can damage your credit score and make it difficult for you to get credit in the future. If you find a lien on your credit report or you receive a notice of lien in the mail, take steps immediately to remove the lien from your credit report. If the lien is valid and unpaid, you'll find it difficult or impossible to buy or sell a home or get new credit. Even a paid lien remains on your credit report for up to 7 years from the date of last activity, so if you wait 4 years to pay your lien, that lien will follow you around for 11 years. That's a long time for anyone to have to deal with a negative credit item. Even if you don't think you'll need to apply for credit or buy or sell a home in the near future - take the steps to remove the lien from your credit report.

How to Remove a Judgement from Your Credit Report

What is a judgment?
If you owe money to somebody, they can take you to court to collect the debt. Both private individuals and big companies can file in court to collect a debt, so it's not just your credit cards that you have to worry about. If you hire a landscaper and then fail to pay them, even if you feel the landscaper has done a poor job, the landscaper can take you to court for payment. If you fail to appear in court, a default judgment is entered against you. Don't miss this court date - it's worth arguing a collections attempt to avoid a judgment on your credit report. If you don't have a valid argument, attempt to settle the debt. Do what you can to avoid a judgment, because it can be very difficult to remove once it is issued.

How to Remove a Collection from Your Credit Report

How does a collection account affect my credit report?
If you have outstanding account balances and you're not paying them, most creditors turn the account over to a collections agency. Some creditors have in-house collection departments, but many creditors use third-party collection agencies to attempt to collect delinquent debts. When a creditor turns an account over to a collection agency, they typically report a negative notation to the three major credit bureaus. This may be a 'charge off' - which is really just an accounting term, and does not indicate that your legal obligation to pay a debt is discharged - or simply "seriously delinquent" or "collections." This initial negative entry drops your score significantly, depending on other items on your credit report. You could see anywhere from a 30 point drop to something even more significant, if the collection account changes the scale on which FICO rates your score.

How to Dispute Credit Report Errors Effectively

When was the last time you looked at your credit report? Did you see inaccurate information and disregard it because it 'didn't seem like a big deal?' Think again; this inaccurate information on your credit report may be costing you thousands of dollars. If your credit report contains errors, you may need to dispute them. By effectively disputing credit report errors, you can improve your credit score by tens or hundreds of points and qualify for lower-rate credit cards, auto loans and mortgages. How do you get started?

Expert Ways on How to Remove a Charge Off from Your Credit Report

What is a charge off on your credit report?
A charge off is when a creditor writes off a debt for accounting purposes, usually after a period of several months of non-payment. A charge off on your credit report tells other creditors that you have been unreliable in the past, and that former creditors have been unable to collect money due. It's considered a serious sign of delinquency, and some creditors are unwilling to extend credit to people who have a charge off in their past.

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