The Importance of Credit Reports - before Starting Your own Business (cont.)
Contributed by Lisa Marie
If you have applied for credit and have been rejected, the creditor must, by law, tell you in writing why you were denied credit. On the letter, it will also tell you the name of the credit bureau that their decision was based on. On this paper, there will be a customer number allowing you access to a free credit report from the bureau in which they got their information from.
Thirdly, you can go to a free credit report website. Be prepared, however, to give them your credit card number and agree to a free trial membership to one of the services which they provide. this is fine, as long as you remember to cancel your service after the free trial is up. Otherwise, you will be getting billed every month on your credit card for their services.
Fixing your credit report.
If and when you find errors, simply write a letter (or email) to the credit bureau about the creditor (or address) in question. The credit bureau must then forward the information to the creditor in question. the creditor then has ten days to either fix the error, or prove that it is not an error. It must be then taken off if they can't prove it.
After all is said and done, you will receive a brand new copy of your error free credit report. Now hit the bank!
