DYI Credit Repair Begins with Serious Self Examination... One Credit Bureau at a Time

Many people are shocked when they pull their Trans Union, Equifax and Experian credit reports and see how many errors are contained in them. Often consumers will find accounts that are paid off being reported as still opened; items that have been paid in a timely manner being reported as delinquent, as well as items that are old and outdated, still listed.

Get Your Credit Report Free

Any effort to improve your beacon score starts with getting a copy of your credit profile to see what's in it that's hurting your overall score. For a small fee you can order a copy via the mail or online, from each of the three credit bureaus. However, you can also request a free copy, once a year, at annualcreditreport.com.

Once you've got a copy of your report, there are five major sections to look at: Personal Info, Credit History, Inquiries, Collection Accounts, and Public Records. You want to examine each section for inaccuracies that may be lowering your score. Clearing up any errors or outdated information in your profile will go a long way toward improving your credit.

The Law Is On Your Side

The Fair Credit Reporting act requires that any inaccuracies reported in your credit report be removed within 30 days after you've proved them to be erroneous. Because of the large number credit reports maintained by the credit bureaus it's nearly impossible for them to keep up with them all. So, the only way a consumer can assure that their credit profile remains free of errors is to check it regularly.

Once you've got your report it contains a legend that explains the numerous abbreviations listed in it. Once you understand how to read the report, repairing your credit might not be as much work as you think. It's just a matter of first seeing what's there and separating the legitimate entries from the erroneous ones.

Save Big $$$ By Being Your Own Credit Counselor

Most credit counselors charge from $250.00 to $500.00 to fix the issues with your credit. For this fee, they'll go through your report file you to identify any inaccurate and outdated information. Once you've identified the problems in your report, the counselor will then write dispute letters to each of the bureaus challenging the erroneous information contain in your profile. They'll also pull a copy thirty days later to assure that any mistakes have been corrected and send a follow up letter asking the bureaus to remove any errors that are still in the report.

However, you can save the counseling fees by doing the work yourself (and perhaps use that money to pay any outstanding bills that may be lowering your credit score). At http://www.creditcures.us you can find a low cost program, under $40.00, complete with everything you need to walk you through the process of rebuilding your credit from start to finish.

If you're patient and work as diligently on improving your credit as you did ruining it in the first place, by this time next year you'll be well on your way to celebrating a credit score that both you and your future lenders can be proud of.

In my blog tomorrow, I will dissect a credit profile, section by section, to explain what's featured in each sections and identify the various abbreviations contained in a credit report, as well as the most injurious entries that can destroy a credit score.

Louis Blackwell is a Security Consultant who writes about commercial and residential security products, as well as identity theft prevention and credit protection/restoration.