Tip #22: Know the difference between soft and
hard inquiries
When you pull
your credit report to look at it, it is counted as a “soft
inquiry.” Only “hard inquiries” from lenders will
affect your credit score dramatically. Although
checking your credit score too often is an expensive habit,
you should not avoid checking your credit report because you
fear it will make your credit rating worse.
Tip #23: Contact
creditors as well as credit bureaus when correcting
inaccuracies in your credit report.
When debtors find
mistakes on their credit report, they often only contact the
credit bureaus. While this is the most effective way
to resolve the issue, you should in some cases contact the
creditors whose account has caused a ding on your credit
report. This can help future dings and resolve
problems faster.
Consider an
example: Let’s say that you were late sending a credit card
payment two months ago because you were sick. The late
payment is listed as a ding on your credit report even
though you have paid it already. You should contact
the credit bureau in order to get the error
removed.
However, if you notice that the same credit card
company has you listed as having late payments three months
when you paid on time, then it is time to contact the credit
company and ask how to resolve the problem.
The information
reported about you to credit bureaus should be accurate - if
it is not, then the credit company should work to make sure
that they correct the problem so that it does not happen
again. You have an advantage in this - the credit
company, unlike the credit bureau, depends on your business
for their money.
This means that
the credit company (or any other bill company presenting
inaccurate information about you) is well motivated to
correct the problem or risk losing you as a
client.
If you find that
a company consistently reports inaccurate information about
you to credit bureaus, consider making a formal complaint to
the company about it or switch companies. There is no
reason why one company’s poor organization should cost you
your good credit score.
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