Improve Credit Score

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Credit scores are certainly a hot button issue in this down economy. How can you find out what your credit score is? What are the best ways to improve your credit score? How long will it take?

Getting Your Credit Score

Getting your credit score is a fairly simple process. Simply visit one of the three major credit reporting agencies, Experian (www.experian.com), TransUnion LLC (www.transunion.com) or Equifax (www.equifax.com) to request your report. You can also visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call 877-322-8228 to request it.

When you request a credit report, you can expect to provide personal information such as your name, address and previous address if you've moved within the last two years, phone number, birth date, social security number, and information like that. To help verify your identity, be prepared to provide secure information, like the amount of your mortgage payment and specifics about your previous address. Be patient with this process as it helps to protect you from credit card fraud and identity theft.

You should be able to get your credit report for free if

* It's ...
... the first time you're requesting it this year
* You're unemployed or lost your job as a result of information in your credit report
* You suspect fraud or incorrect information on your credit report
* You've been denied credit because of something on your credit report.

If for whatever reason you have to pay to get your credit report, it shouldn't be more than $10, depending on what state you're located in.

Reading Your Credit Score

Once you have your credit score, make sure you read it closely. Check it for any errors that could affect your overall score. Things that are more than 7 years old shouldn't be on there anymore - stuff like late payments, accounts sent to collections and overdue child support. Also, any credit inquiries that may have been performed by potential employers or banks should be removed if they're more than 2 years old. Check for accounts that don't belong to you, or lawsuits you weren't involved in. Make sure all the accounts you've closed in the past are marked as such. They should say closed by consumer next to them. Verify all your personal information is correct - things like your name, address, phone number, etcetera. Make sure all your account histories are correct. Look for late payment notes on accounts you paid on time.

Working towards improvement

Should you find a mistake, what do you do? Well, notify the agency by writing a letter. You can even use a template like the ones on www.creditelves.com. This will allow you a way to provide everything the agency needs at once, all your personal information, details about the suspected mistake or mistakes, proof regarding the error and any other information pertaining to the inaccuracy.

Once they get the letter, the agency has 30 days to respond in writing. If they decide you were right, that there was in fact a mistake, they're required to remove it, or amend the report to reflect the results of their investigation. If they don't rule in your favor, you have the right to add a statement regarding the specific offending entry to explain what happened.

For more information on improving your credit score, visit www.creditelves.com and let them help you clean up your credit today!