A hard inquiry happens when a company checks your credit reports because you have applied for credit. You can dispute hard inquiries you didn’t authorize, but you cannot remove legitimate credit ...

Debts in collections typically stay on your credit report for seven years and can harm your score for as long as they appear. Some credit repair tactics can potentially get collection accounts taken ...

Future lenders want to know that the person they are extending credit to is willing and able to pay back their debt obligations. However, the presence of a charged-off account can be a huge red flag ...

Take a Financial Relief Quiz. Get matched with an Authorized Partner. An unauthorized hard inquiry on your credit file can have a negative impact on your ability to access the credit you need. These ...

If you have heard from a debt collector called Southwest Credit Systems recently, you may already be aware of its entry on your credit report. Having a collections account on your credit report can ...

Negative marks on your credit report can hurt your credit score and affect your ability to qualify for loans. Here’s how to fix them.

When you check your credit reports, you might notice it lists one or more hard inquiries. Hard inquiries provide a record of which lenders checked your credit reports, and when. Since hard credit ...

Every point may count when you’re applying for a new credit card or loan. Unfortunately, you generally can’t remove accurate records from your credit reports, including hard inquiries from previous ...

A pay-for-delete agreement is a credit repair tactic that could help erase collection accounts from your credit report. It involves offering to settle your debt in exchange for the collection agency ...

Your credit report is meant to be an accurate, detailed summary of your financial history — however, mistakes happen more often than you may think. Whether it’s accounts that don’t actually belong to ...