You don’t have to live with bad credit, but you also don’t have to let big companies take advantage of you. When it comes to your credit, you have certain rights that will help you repair your credit, as listed below:
- You have the right to see your credit report: Your credit report is maintained by credit bureaus and these bureaus have to make your credit report available when you request it or even at times when you apply for quick loans bad credit from online lending institutions. You can get one free credit report from each of the major credit bureaus each year. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are the major bureaus. If you’ve already ordered your free credit report for this year, you can purchase your credit report through the bureaus or through an authorized third-party.
- You can get a free credit report when you’re denied credit because of something on your credit report: The business has to send you a letter letting you know why your application was denied and give you instructions on how to order your credit report. You’ll get a free credit report from the credit bureau that initially provided your report to the business that processed your application. You have 60 days to access your free credit report.
- You have the right to have errors removed from your credit report for free: When you check your credit report, it’s important that you look through it to make sure everything that’s listed is correct. When you find errors on your credit report, you can dispute them with the credit bureau. You don’t have to pay a fee to dispute these errors yourself. However, if you use a credit repair company to do your disputes, you’ll have to pay whatever fee the credit repair service charges. If the credit bureau doesn’t remove the credit report error, you can contact the company who provided the information to sort out the error.
- You can repair your own credit: While there are companies out there that promise to fix your credit – and a few companies actually follow through on the promise – you don’t have to use a credit repair company to fix your credit. Everything a credit repair company can do, you can do on your own for less money.
- You have the right to tell your side of the story: You can add a 100-word statement to your credit report that explains why a certain negative item is on your credit report. For example, you might do this if you’ve been a victim of identity theft. Personal statements on your credit report don’t affect your credit score. If you change your mind about a statement that’s already on your credit report, you can contact the credit bureau to have it removed.
If a company involved in your credit repair process violates your rights, you can report them to the Federal Trade Commission and your state Attorney General. You also have the right to sue these companies in state or Federal court for actual and punitive damages.
