Here are some tips for keeping up with your credit record, provided by Steven Katz, spokesman for Chicago-based TransUnion and its TrueCredit.com Web site:
• If you have a disputed item on your report, contact the party in question yourself, then the credit bureau. This shows that you have been trying to get the matter resolved.
• Most people don’t know they are entitled to one free credit report every 12 months from each of the three big companies that do credit checks. You can ask for another report for the same bureau 12 months after getting the prior one. All provide a report, but not a rating. For that you have to pay a small fee, typically about $8.
• Katz suggests you check your report more than once a year, which can be done by staggering the reports from each service. The firms offer packages for a monthly fee that allow access to all reports and scores.
• Check to see if everything on the report looks familiar and that your name and address are listed correctly.
• Make sure the inquiries into your credit appear accurate (from places you have applied for credit or companies with which you have credit).
• For disputes, register your complaint online or by phone. For TransUnion you can talk to a representative by calling (800) 916-8800.
• Katz noted the following things can impact your credit rating:
1. Making late payments.
2. Keeping credit card balances more than 35 percent of the credit limit set for the card.
3. Excessive “hard” inquiries into your credit (such as getting too much instant credit while Christmas shopping by filling out on-the-spot applications at malls).
4. Closing longer-held credit cards than newer ones, which eliminates an established payment history from your record.
5. Above all, Katz said to “manage your credit like your health. It’s better to look now and deal with what might be, than to put off addressing potential problems.”