While most consumers are aware of the fact that a credit rating is a measurement of perceived financial responsibility and therefore directly affects their present and future life, too many individuals simply do not have any idea what their actual score is.
The unfortunate truth is that a beacon score in need of improvement can not only make it incredibly difficult to borrow money or manage day to day finances, but it can also affect a person's insurance premiums and even their career.
Many individuals wait until a minor problem becomes a catastrophe, and the simple fact is that most issues could have been prevented with credit monitoring.
For individuals that have not taken the precautionary measures in the past, the good news is that a bad credit score can be remedied by following a couple steps to clean up the credit report.
Many individuals automatically assume that their credit history is correct and accurate due to the fact that computers are handling all of the reporting, but the truth is that this is a common misconception that is unfortunately false.
Data entry is still largely dependent upon human operators, and the mistakes that are found on the average credit report are simply amazing.
A wise consumer needs to ensure that any account information is being displayed properly, and old or closed accounts should be reporting a zero balance.
If there are any collection accounts, an individual must verify that they are legitimate debts.
Collection agencies report millions of individuals daily to the bureaus, and many of the accounts actually belong to someone else.
Online disputes are easy and can remedy these minor issues.
An error or mistake on a credit report can happen at any given time, so a responsible consumer must ensure that they are always prepared to protect themselves.
The good news is that an individual can make arrangements to be alerted if any changes occur or if any new information is reported to one of the three major bureaus.
An old adage says that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and being prepared is surely the most appropriate way to stay on top of a credit score.
Simply making sure that all the information is correct and cleaning up old data can easily improve a score by 100 points or more, so wise consumers will take action and enjoy a brighter financial future.