UNDERSTANDING CREDIT
Obtaining Your Credit Report & FICO Score
Contact any or all three of the credit reporting agencies.
EXPERIAN
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com
TRANSUNION
ConsumerDisclosureCenter
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
1-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com
EQUIFAX
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30337
1-800-685-1111
www.equifax.com
Understanding Credit
Improving Your Credit Score
1. Correct inaccurate information
2. Pay bills on time
3. Reduce outstanding debt
4. Apply for and open new credit accounts only as needed
5. Use credit cards responsibly
6. Re-establish credit if you have had problems
7. Deferring interest on purchases may lower your score
8. Checking credit reports frequently may lower your score
You don’t always have to go to a credit repair company – they will most likely charge you to do the following:
- Correct and dispute errors
- Pay bills on time – not one day late
- Pay down debt
Understanding Credit
Correcting Any Errors on Your Credit Report
1. Follow any instruction on how to correct errors
2. Call the credit agency
3. Send information needed to correct the error
4. Explain the problem in a brief letter
5. Contact the creditor directly
6. Write a consumer statement to tell your side of the story
Understanding Credit
What If You Don’t Have Credit?
- Nontraditional credit report may needed if you:
- Do not use banks or credit cards
- Have insufficient number of credit references to develop traditional credit report
- Generally prepared by credit bureau or lender
- Borrower must provide a list of
- Credit sources for all regular, periodic payments
- Borrower must produce
- Receipts, copies of canceled checks or money orders, and copies of paid bills
Understanding Credit
Nontraditional Credit Report
- Need to provide:
- Housing-related payments
- Rent, utilities, phone, and cable television
- Insurance-related payments
- Excluding payroll deductions
- Including coverage for medical, automobile, and life
- Payments to merchants and health and child care providers
- Tuition and loans obtained
If you would like to learn where you can find additional information regarding credit assistance and repair, email us at info@eahbenefits.com.
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