Auto Net Financial News

Consumers with bad credit can actually raise their credit scores by disputing the errors they find and having the information corrected on their credit reports.

Improving your credit score

At Auto Net Financial, we are in the business of helping our customers reestablish their credit by financing either a new or a newer pre-owned vehicle with a bad credit car loan through high risk lenders. In the process, we have helped many of our customers raise their credit scores and reestablish their car credit by financing a vehicle with a bad credit auto loan.

But in addition to using a bad credit car loan to raise their credit scores, many of these same consumers could also boost their FICO scores by simply correcting the inaccuracies found on their credit reports. To that end, we have listed the steps that need to be taken in order to do this.

First step – order your credit reports

Before you can review your credit reports from all three bureaus (and you should have all three) – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - you must first order them. All three reports can be ordered online, for a fee, from a service such as freecreditreports360.com or you can do it yourself by contacting each of the credit bureaus separately.

Second step – review the information

Once you receive the reports (you can usually retrieve them online), print them out and carefully review the information that they contain. The length of time negative information stays on your credit report can vary. Here are some of the most common items:

Tax liens – Tax liens can appear on your report indefinitely if they aren’t paid. Once paid, this type of lien can appear on your report for a period of 7 years from the date it was paid.

Bankruptcy filings – A bankruptcy filing record expires 10 years after the filing date. Each account record that was included in the bankruptcy can remain on your credit report for a period of 7 years from the date of discharge.

Charge-offs, collections, closed negative accounts, foreclosures, late payments and repossessions – Each of these negative record types can appear on your credit report for 7 years. In the case of collection records, the expiration takes place 7 years after the last 180 day late payment that led to the account being sent to collection.

Inquiries – Inquiry records include such things as requests for credit or loan applications and can remain on your credit report for 1 to 2 years.

Review all your credit information for crossed or duplicate information, records that should be expired as well as data errors and fraudulent information.

Third step – write a dispute letter

When writing a letter, be sure to include your name and address, a copy of the credit report listing the inaccuracies as well as any supporting material you may have (copies of account records, statements and correspondence).

Fourth step – file a dispute

Equifax and TransUnion will allow you to mail in your dispute, while all three bureaus offer an online dispute process. When filing a dispute, either by mail or via the web, be sure to include the identification number located at the bottom of your most recent credit report.

In the credit report listings, along with the name of the creditor you will find the information needed in order to contact the creditor directly – by phone or in writing. If the creditor follows up and indicates that the information was incorrect, make sure you get this in writing. Also, be sure to keep all paperwork that involves these disputes. In the event that the creditor continues to report the wrong information, you can send it to the credit bureau to have it removed. You can also present it to the loan officer as proof that the information contained in the credit report is incorrect.

Fifth step – track your results

Equifax, Experian and TransUnion have 30 days in which to investigate and make changes to your credit report following the filing of a dispute. Once the investigation is complete, they will inform you, by letter, of what information was and was not changed as a result of the dispute process.

Sixth step – do a final credit check

Once the entire dispute process is complete, you need to order a final credit report from each of the three bureaus. Once you receive them, check to make sure that each of the changes has been made.

Check with us if you still need a bad credit auto loan

One thing we ask consumers to remember is that Auto Net Financial is in the business of helping consumers with bad credit find a dealer that can get them financed so that they can begin to reestablish their auto credit and improve their FICO scores. These affiliate dealers are knowledgeable and treat all their customers, regardless of their credit background, with dignity and respect.

For more information on the bad credit auto loan process, please visit our web site at www.autonetfinancial.com.