Credit Repair: Starts with Your Credit Report

One of the most important steps in self repairing your credit is to get your credit report from the national credit bureaus. Experian, Equifax and Trans Union are the three biggest credit bureaus where the local and regional credit centers get most of their information from.

Why work around the middle man when you can get it straight from the big guy?

Currently, annual credit report is the only authorized source to get your free annual report under federal law.

You are entitled to get your free credit report once every year and anything that ask you to pay, even for processing fees should be examined closely.

It is much more convenient to get your credit report free from the site above but if you prefer to do it by mail for whatever reason, include your name, address and social security number, and proof of address (phone bills, utility bills, etc) and send to the following addresses:

Experian Credit Report Service

(800) 682-7654

P.O. Box 2104\Allen, TX 75013-2104

Equifax

(800) 685- 1111

P.O. Box 105873

Atlanta, GA 30348

Trans Union

(800)888-4213

P.O. Box 390

Springfield, PA 19064-039

Most cases of money owed that you will see in your credit report are unsecured debts such as hospital, medical bills, and student loans.

Unsecure debts do not allow the creditor to take anything back from you. Secured debts on the other hand, is backed up by your asserts such as car, house, boat, etc. If you fail to pay, or default on a payment, the creditors can put a lien on it.

If you know for sure that your car will be repossessed, take your things out ahead and when the creditors do come for the car, make sure you get a receipt and mark the time and date.

As for the house, if you see foreclosure coming, speak to the loaners about if they can work out a deal with you. Some will and some won't; it just really depends. However, go ahead and rent a storage area to move the stuff.

You can begin selling them on eBay or craigslist to help with some of the expenses. Start looking for another apartment or if you're single, check out if anyone needs a roommate. This will help you with the financial issues until you have your feet planted.

As for your credit report, check for inaccuracies and old and unverifiable information that you can request to have deleted. The older, the account is, the less substance it has. In order to request a deletion, you need to get a hold of a Credit Report Dispute Form.

It's always better to seek and repair your credit yourself. Credit repair services and agencies will not be able to do anything that you cannot do yourself.

Some may be helpful, but why pay a fortune when you can do it yourself, especially at a time when funds are scarce?