Stress Importance Of Protecting Your Credit Standing

— A good credit report can make the difference in obtaining loans, mortgages and, in some cases, gaining employment, according to Robbie McKinnon, Pike County extension agent for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.

“It’s hard to turn on the television without seeing at least one commercial a day for credit reporting,” she said. “Knowing who is collecting and reporting information about your money is important to staying out of financial trouble.”

Private companies called credit bureaus collect information reported to them by banks, mortgage companies, department stores and other creditors that maintain your credit history.

These credit bureaus can legally report accurate negative credit information for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years.

Accurate items that are within the seven- or 10-year reporting period cannot be erased from your credit report by companies advertising “credit repair” services.

If a consumer has a poor credit history - even if past problems were due to illness or unemployment - time is the only thing that will heal a credit report.

“However, if there are genuine mistakes or outdated items in your report, you can fix them yourself,” McKinnon said.

First, notify the credit bureau of the problem and provide as much information as possible about what’s wrong with the report. The bureau must - at no charge to you - investigate the disputed information and get back in touch with you within a “reasonable time”. “Reasonable time” usually means 30 days. It then must correct any mistake or delete any information it cannot verify.

The consumer may contact the creditor directly to ensure that the creditor’s records are correct. A consumer must also file a written statement of up to 100 words with the credit bureau explaining the consumer’s side of the story. This explanation will be included in your credit report.

“If you find errors in a report from one bureau, make sure the mistakes don’t appear in the others,” she said.

Consumers may receive one free report a year from each of the three major credit bureaus. The three may be contacted via the following methods:

◊ Equifax (800-685-111, www.equifax.com);

◊ Experian (888-397-3742, www.experian.com); and

◊ TransUnion (800-888-4213, www.transunion. com).

-Column provided by University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Extension Service

News, Pages 3 on 03/03/2010