Legal Procedures: CREDIT SCORES

SUMMARY:

Step 1: Obtain your credit report that consist of all 3 agencies
Step 2: Check to see if you have any delinquencies
Step 3: Check to see if you have any lawsuits
Step 4: Dispute all items that does not belong to you

CREDIT REPORT:

Your Credit report consists of profile information, revolving accounts, delinquents, inquiries, pending lawsuits, judgments and your scores.

CREDIT SCORES:

The higher the number the better your credit. The higher the number the less risky you are. List of few credit evaluators (Not the credit agencies):

FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation)
Score ranges from 300 - 850
http://www.myfico.com
http://www.fairisaac.com/ficx/

VantageScore (VantageScore Solutions, LLC)
Score ranges from 501-990
http://www.vantagescore.com/

Experian PLUS score ranges from 330-830
http://www.experian.com/consumer/credit_education.html

THE THREE CREDIT AGENCIES:

TransUnion: http://www.transunion.com/
Experian: http://www.experian.com/
Equifax: http://www.equifax.com/home/

DISPUTING WITH THE AGENCIES:

Use the provided forms from the credit agencies to dispute any information on your credit report.

Experian Dispute Page:
http://www.experian.com/disputes2/index.html

Transunion Dispute Page:
http://www.transunion.com/corporate/personal/creditDisputes.page

Equifax Dispute Page:
http://www.equifax.com/online-credit-dispute/

Dispute any delinquent accounts that do not belong to you. Dispute typos on address, name, employer information. Dispute any lawsuits that do not belong to you. You need to keep following up with the agencies. If they do not process your request within a reasonable amount of time, you need to be adamant and perhaps resubmit your dispute request.

Sometimes it's more effective when an attorney writes a letter to the agencies on your behalf. The letters may cost you from $100.00 - $250.00 each.

THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW:

Experian states:

1. Personal inquiries, also known as "soft inquires" are not included in your credit report and therefore are not part of your credit score calculation.
2. Your credit grantors take a number of factors into consideration such as your income, assets, length at current residency, and current employment when determining your risk factor.
3. Your credit report and score may even be reviewed by potential landlords and employers to determine how you’ve handled your financial obligations. But remember, they cannot review this information without your permission.
4. Your credit score is a dynamic number generated based on the contents of your credit report the moment it is requested. And since your credit report changes constantly, so will your credit score.