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Most Americans with credit cards really have no basic idea how credit or credit scoring is constituted. Many get rejected for house loans or car loans because they have bad credit or insufficient credit while they really have no idea what information is contained in their credit report.

The sad reality is that if more people were to understand exactly what information is on their credit report, they might be able to do something to raise their credit score. By law, consumers are able to get an annual credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Because of the number of errors that occur on credit reports (approximately 70% contain errors), many people are penalized for reasons that are simply not their fault. Many small errors can have a significant effect and cause a major reduction one’s overall FICO score.

The best financial advice for consumers is get your free credit report and go through it line by line highlighting information that doesn’t seem to be accurate. You can then send a letter the credit reporting agency and they must investigate you claim. If the agencies do not report back to you within a reasonable period of time, 30-45 days, then you have the right to have the information taken off your report permanently,

It cannot be stressed enough how thoroughly you need to comb through your report. Some small error or subtle incorrect date can make a large difference. A prime example would be if you had a cell phone account with a particular company and canceled your account deciding to move on to another provider and mistakenly your account was written off to collections. This mistake will show up on your credit report as a delinquent account. If you report this error to the credit reporting agencies, they will expunge it from your records immediately.

In these difficult economic times, it is important to be vigilant in ensuring the accuracy of the data that makes up your financial portfolio. It only takes one small mistake of a simple mistyped date or number, to essentially ruin your entire credit score!

Related posts:

1. Building Up Your Personal Credit Rating
2. How Do Late Payments Affect My Credit Report And Score?
3. Repairing Your Credit Yourself
4. Free Annual Credit Report Online
5. What Not To Say When Disputing Your Credit