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The only measure of risk credit lenders learn about you prior to giving you a line of credit is your personal credit rating. If your credit rating is poor, you’ll likely not get the loans you want. It may prevent you from getting home insurance, car insurance and even keep you from getting the job that you want.

Building a quality personal credit score takes years. From your first credit card issued years ago to your present credit situation, the credit reporting agencies have been monitoring your every financial move and creating a score. The reporting agencies collect information about you from the creditors that you have worked with. This is a collective effort between creditors and the reporting agencies and you can’t stop them from reporting accurate information.

The personal information gathered on your credit report that constitutes your score is something that you have access to and can change if required. One critical thing you can do to improve your credit rating is to verify that all the information on your credit reports is accurate, once you obtain a copy of them. An estimate of 70% of all credit reports is known to have some errors. The reported errors are not corrected by the credit reporting agencies for you. It is your responsibility to correct the information yourself or else the errors will remain on you account for many years to come.

It is easy to get a free copy from the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion on a yearly basis. When you request and receive each free report yearly, examine each carefully for incorrect data.

Concentrate on the following errors:

*Credit accounts that do not belong to you.

*Incorrectly reported accounts eg., accounts reported as late when you know they were paid on time.

*Accounts with missing information.

*Mistakes on credit limits and balances.

*Collection accounts.

*Inquiries or “hard pulls” from those who checked your credit score without your permission.

*Derogatory information that is older than 7 years, excluding bankruptcies and foreclosures, which can remain on reports for ten years.

You should report to the agency any information you find on your credit report that is inaccurate because it is affecting your personal credit rating. Mistakes can negatively affect your credit score. Report any errors on your credit report by following the step-by-step method each credit reporting agency has set up for account disputes.

Your personal credit rating is so precious in today’s world that it should be treated like gold. It takes many years of on time payments to develop a high credit score, but it only takes a few errors to see an instant drop in the score. To build and maintain a solid personal credit rating, pay all your bills on time, keep your credit lines lower than their outstanding balances and annually request and examine your credit reports from the three major credit reporting agencies.

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1. Free Personal Credit Report Puts A Target On Your Back
2. Repairing Your Credit Yourself
3. Your Credit Score Is Lower Because Of Small Errors
4. What Not To Say When Disputing Your Credit
5. Cheap 3 in 1 Credit Report