Credit Repair Tips - How to Fix Your Bad Credit Rating

Do you have a bad credit rating and are not sure how it happened? You are not alone. Possibly millions of Australians have a bad credit rating, and many of us are unaware we have black marks against our name until we apply for credit and are flatly refused.

What is a bad credit rating?

A bad credit rating is generally defined as a credit file which contains one or more adverse listings such as a default, writ, judgement or bankruptcy.

Most of these listings can make it very difficult for us to obtain credit for 5 years for defaults and up to 7 years for bankruptcy. This affects many major areas of our life such as buying homes, taking out personal loans for vehicles, business loans and in many cases even credit cards and mobile phone plans.

Currently most of the major banks are rejecting home loan applications where the credit history shows a default listing (an overdue account which has lapsed past 60 days). Many lenders are even rejecting loans for excess credit enquiries such as two in thirty days or six within the year.

What if my black mark shouldn't be there?

There are over 14 million credit files for 'credit active' people, held by the major credit reporting agencies in Australia; Veda Advantage, Dun & Bradstreet, Tasmanian Collection Service. Over 30% of these credit files could potentially contain errors.

In 2004 the Australian Consumer Association (now Choice) conducted a survey which revealed 34% of the credit files of the people surveyed possibly contained errors.

Most people who query creditors and credit reporting agencies about their bad credit rating - particularly one where they have a default listing, are told that the listing cannot be removed, but can be marked as 'Paid' if the account was settled.

This is often not good enough for those of us who need to use credit over the next 5 years (which is almost everyone nowadays).

How do I repair my credit rating?

If our credit report contains a default, writ or Judgment which has errors, is unjust or we believe just shouldn't be there - it is recommended we refer our case to a credit repair company.

One important aspect of credit repair to remember is that we usually only get one chance at clearing our credit file.

Sometimes we can attempt to deal with creditors to remove the credit rating default ourselves and can do more harm than good by not understanding the legislation.

Credit repair is a lengthy process, involving the review of all documentation- including the credit file and all the circumstances surrounding the default, writ or Judgment.

Then the credit repairer negotiates with the creditor who initiated the listing on our behalf to remove the default.

This can also often involve lengthy requests and submissions of documentation until an agreement is reached by the creditor and the repairer to remove the offending black mark.

Not every credit file is suitable for credit repair. The credit repair company can review our situation and determine whether our case is worthy of pursuing.

It is advised to research the company and ensure they are a reputable credit repairer before we outlay any money. The best way of knowing we are dealing with a professional repairer and not a professional con artist, is to check these things:

• Can we verify their street address?


• Are they an Australian company in Australia?


• Do they publish their costs?


• Are we required to pay the full costs up front?


• Do they provide testimonials from past clients?

A reputable credit repair company (the good ones) will be well worth our investment because they will be up front about what they can do for us. If and when they do remove our black marks - we will have back the financial freedom we deserve.

Want to know more about Credit Repair please visit at: https://thecreditperson.com