If you’ve had your fair share of experience with banks and other such institutions, you probaby know that you will need good credit to make purchases that require a credit card or a loan. Whether you want to buy a new vehicle, a home, or even furniture, credit is essential. A decent credit score is key in being able to make purchases when you don’t have cash on hand. Sadly, too many people still believe that they must accept the credit bureaus’ reports on their credit and that they cannot be changed. However, that’s not true.
There are things you can do to build a good credit score. Here’s what you can do.
Want a Better Credit Score?
When any creditor reports financial information to the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion), they’re required by law to ensure that it’s both accurate and verifiable. If that credit information doesn’t meet those requirements, then the credit bureau must either update it or remove it altogether. Therefore, it is important that you check your credit reports at least semiannually to ensure they contain accurate information.
Is the Law on Your Side?
Yes. According to The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), federal legislation has outlined all your rights regarding credit reporting laws. To avoid suffering the consequences of having a low credit score—especially since it’s preventable—it’s important to understand your rights and those of third parties in the credit industry. That’s what we can help you with at Vilt Law, P.C. in Houston.
Know Your Rights
When you think something on your credit report is inaccurate or incomplete, you may file a dispute with the credit bureau. If you dispute something with a credit bureau, the agency must respond to you. However, you must initiate a dispute to get the process started. In accordance with the FCRA, the credit bureau must investigate each dispute once it is filed. However, most consumers don’t know exactly how to go about filing a dispute. In many other cases, they may just not have the time to devote to this endeavor. That’s where we can help.
Getting Started
By law, credit bureaus must respond within 30 days from the date that a dispute is filed. Therefore, if you have a dispute, getting the process started ASAP is crucial. That means contacting us as soon as you start noticing anything on your credit report that just doesn’t look quite right.
As a result of a credit bureau’s investigation, if a disputed item is found to be incorrect, incomplete, or unverifiable, the item must be corrected or completely removed from your file. You’ll typically notice an increase in your score if the item was damaging your credit. Exactly how much will depend on what information was removed or corrected.
Inquiries, for example, could effectively lower your credit score by just a few points. On the other hand, as many as a whopping 100 points could be deducted from your credit score if you had a foreclosure. According to an FTC study, as many as 25% of all Americans have one or more errors on their credit reports that could have a negative impact on their credit scores. But there’s no need to worry about that statistic since an effective credit repair strategy can help you if you fall into that large group.
DIY vs. Professional Credit Repair
Although you can conceivably file credit disputes on your own, working with us comes with numerous advantages. Just like the credit bureaus, collection agencies and creditors must follow certain procedures as do consumers. Choosing the wrong method to file a dispute can damage your credit score further, so ensure that you do it correctly the very first time.
Not only are we capable of executing the dispute process in a highly professional manner, but we also utilize a few other strategies to help you. Most consumers are delighted to learn that not only have they been able to remove derogatory items from their report, but their credit scores have also improved significantly after working with legal professionals like us.
The professionals at Vilt Law, P.C. in Houston are quite well-versed in all the consumer laws that can affect your credit. That’s why we can help you with the daunting process of exercising all those legal rights. With many years of experience, we are often able to help our clients successfully remove many negative items that exist on their credit reports, thereby improving their credit scores and their lives as well.
We understand all the intricacies and nuances of the law. Plus, we deal with creditors and credit bureaus all the time, so there are no emotions involved that can end up interfering with the process. This makes us a much better option than dealing with your disputes on your own since we can handle them rapidly, efficiently, and effectively.
Much Less Time and Effort
Disputes can not just be emotionally taxing, but they could also be complicated and time-consuming for individuals attempting to resolve them on their own. It’s often more cost-effective as well to hire someone else to prove your credit dispute case rather than wasting your time trying to do it yourself. Since you must get it right the first time itself, a trial-and-error approach to this is not a wise idea at all.
So, avoid taking time away from your work or family to resolve a credit dispute, especially if it’s a complicated one. Since you only have one shot at improving your credit, we want you to get the best results by contacting us for professional help.
Don’t underestimate the importance of having good credit. When you apply for credit, whether it’s a credit card, a loan, or a mortgage, the creditor will review your financial history. And the fact is that the effects of bad credit can even extend beyond the financial world. Having bad credit can also affect your employment prospects in the financial industry.
Contact Us Today for Help With Your Credit
If you’re one of the many Americans who are suffering because of inaccurate items on your credit reports, we can help you with that. Contact us today if you’re in Houston and you need help with improving your credit score for a better tomorrow.