To get good credit card deals, you are required to maintain a good credit card history. Those who want and need to have a credit card need to take into consideration the information about them that is on their credit report.
There are several types of information placed on your credit report. There, you will find information that identifies just who you are, including your addresses, your full name, your social security number, your date of birth and the employment information that you have.
How this affects credit score
You may not realize that you have a bad credit history until you actually are denied credit. That's because a credit card company will offer you a credit card dependant on the credit card history that you have. Credit bureaus will report poor credit histories and payment information for seven years, and up to ten years for bankruptcies.
But, you may not have a bad credit history. The bad news is that up to 30% of all credit reports contain some errors that are considered serious in nature to your credit report, and that a full 70% of credit reports have other mistakes on them.
What about those times when you do have a bad credit history? There are some companies that say they can erase bad credit, but the Federal Trade Commission issues some warnings about such offers.
Scams are usually those companies that:
• Promise to remove late payments, bankruptcies, or other information like this from your credit report.
• They are organizations that promise to repair your credit
• They may request that you write to the credit bureau several times after you have been told that the information on your credit report is accurate.
• They don't want to provide you with their own address or other contact information
• They often want you to make decisions regarding credit quickly, without allowing you to make decisions over time.
Credit report disputing
The good news - is that if you do have bad credit card history marks that aren't accurate, you can remove them from your credit report on your own, without having to pay anyone to do it. Here's how to make this happen.
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Online or through writing, request a copy of your credit report. If you have been denied credit, then you have 60 days to request a free copy of your report. In addition, you are allowed one free copy from each of the credit bureaus per year of your credit report. In addition to this, if you need additional reports, consider paying for one. You'll see your bad credit mistakes easily.
• Once you get the report, check it for genuine mistakes as well as items that are outdated. These are the things that can be easily removed from your credit report. If you find a mistake, you'll need to notify the credit bureau in writing or through their online websites. Provide them with as much information about your claim as possible. Once this is done, they must remove it from your credit report, assuming that your information is accurate, and even send it to those that have requested a copy of your credit report in the last 6 months or up to 2 years for employment applications. This can help you to go from bad credit to excellent credit just from a few mistakes.
• If you have outdated information on your credit report (poor credit report claims from 7 or more years ago or a bankruptcy for more than ten years ago), this information should be removed for you. You know that some information can still be considered on a loan application that is over $150,000.
• Consider using a statement to explain your situation on your credit report. Usually, you have up to 100 words that you can use to file a statement on your credit report that then becomes a part of your credit report and allows you to tell your story. Creditors will see this when they pull a report on you. It can help you when you apply online or use another method other than an online credit card application.
How you can improve your credit
Building a good credit history is something you need to do but this can be challenging if you don't have any credit in which to establish your history with. Creditors will look at your salary and job information and that's it. Others want more information to determine how reliable you will be at paying your credit card debt back. They use credit reports from credit bureaus to determine this information which have the job of collecting, storing and reporting your information. When you apply online, credit card companies look at this information closely, so should you!
To build a good credit history, consider these tips:
• Use a checking account or a savings account to establish your financial abilities. Although they don't establish a credit file for you with credit bureaus they do show that you can maintain your finances.
• Try to find a secured credit card that can allow you to put funds into the credit card company and then you use these based on your deposited amount. This usually provides you with the ability to establish your credit card.
• Use department store credit cards or gasoline credit cards to help you to build a good credit history, but pay them off monthly.
• Consider a cosigner on an online credit card application. If you apply online, for example, using a cosigner, this can help you to establish a good credit standing.
• When you are turned down for an online credit card application, don't apply for credit card online again, but instead find out why and try to fix this problem first.
Credit-report-concerned laws
There are a variety of laws that affect your good credit history as well as the records that are kept.
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act is one that provides help for women, especially. Since many times women don't have their own credit card accounts and credit histories, this can help to establish them if and when there is a need for it.
If you end up being divorced or widowed, you may not have a separate credit history but only one that is in their husband's name as well. Under this act, the creditor must consider the credit history of those women that have held joint accounts with their husband's.
If she can show that she has credit worthiness as well. If there is evidence of a bad credit risk with the husband, the women can show that she is a good credit risk and therefore open her own credit account depending on the credit card deals.
Maintain your credit records
As part of the process of having good credit (or avoiding bad credit), there is the need to consider the credit bureau records that are in place and maintain their accuracy. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you must be told what is in your file and have the right to correct any errors that are there.
If there is any negative information in your credit history and you are denied a credit card company application, you have the right to know what is in that report. You can do this online, through the online website of the credit bureau or through writing. You'll learn what is in the report and have it analyzed so that you can easily understand it. To obtain these records, you'll have to do one of the three things.
• If you apply online or through a mail sent credit card application and are denied credit, you can request a copy of your report within 60 days for no charge to you.
• Once every 12 months, you are entitled to receive a free copy of your credit report from the credit bureaus.
• You can pay a small fee any time you want to in order to obtain a copy of your credit report as often as you would like to.
If you find an error on your good credit history you can file a notice to the bureau and then obtain an answer regarding the dispute. The bureau will determine who provided the information and then track it back to the creditor to determine if the charge or the issue is correct. If you don't get your issue resolved, you can then add a statement to your credit report giving your side of the story.
In addition to this, old information may have been reported on your credit card and therefore will effect your application when you apply online or use a credit card application otherwise. If you have a bankruptcy on your credit report, this could cause a bad credit report, but it can only remain there for up to ten years. Other terms apply to longer termed or more valuable loans. If you have any other types of unfavorable records on your credit report, they are likely to be removed within seven years.
Finally, you should know that your credit records don't have to be given to anyone unless they have a legitimate reason for obtaining it, such as doing legitimate business with you.
If you want to get good credit card deals, you'll need to first make sure that your credit history is right. The best credit card deals can't come to you with mistakes on your credit file.
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