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Are you tired of getting turned down for credit everywhere you apply? If so, a professional credit repair service in Montana may be able to help. Professional credit repair can help you consolidate your debts and also get rid of derogatory marks on your credit report that is lowering your score. We have put together an easy-to-understand guide that tells you everything you need to know about repairing your credit in Montana so you can get back on the path to financial wellness.
Montana sits right around the average cost of living in the US. Because of this, it comes as no surprise that Montana is low on the list of average credit card debt per person. The average person in Montana has a credit card debt of $4,740, around $400 less than the average in the United States, which is $5,193 per person.
These low credit card debt averages are paired with a fairly healthy average credit score per person in the state. In Montana, the average credit score is 730 points, 16 points above the national average of 714. While 730 is a good credit score, this is only the state average and does not reflect every individual's credit score within the state. If your credit score is being affected by inaccurate information, credit repair can help you to improve your score by removing false credit report entries.
There are no specific state laws directed at credit repair in Montana. However, there is a federal law that offers blanket protections for consumers by putting requirements on all credit repair companies operating within the US. The Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) deals with customer contracts, advertising practices, specific services that can be offered to customers, payment practices, and more, helping people in Montana and elsewhere avoid scams.
There's a persistent myth that credit repair can only be done by lawyers or registered law firms in Montana. However, this is not the case. Credit repair can be done by any company that is following federal and state regulations. In Montana, you can also do credit repair for yourself, although it will be difficult to go through the process alone if you’re not already experienced.
There are three basic steps to doing credit repair in Montana. These steps are:
Step 1: Make a credit report request
at the start of the process, you need to request a credit report from all 3 of the major credit bureaus in the US. These credit bureaus maintain records of all your credit-related activity, using it to calculate your credit score. Because there are 3 different bureaus, you need to make sure you request a report from each one separately instead of just relying on a single credit report, as they may contain slightly different information. By law, you’re entitled to one free credit report from each bureau every 12 months.
Step 2: Scrutinize your credit reports
After you’ve requested your credit reports, you need to set aside some time to look through all the entries on each report. Check the accuracy of each entry, looking closely for any transactions that may not belong. Make notes of any entry you find suspicious, and check again once you finish to confirm if the entries are inaccurate or not. If you find inaccurate entries on your credit report, the next step will be to send a dispute letter to the credit bureau so they can remove that entry from your credit report.
Step 3: Contact credit bureaus with inaccurate information
The official process to have an entry removed from your credit report starts with a dispute letter. Unfortunately, there's no way for you to remove an entry from your credit report on your own, so you have to contact the credit bureau who sent you the credit report and give evidence as to why the entry is inaccurate and doesn't belong on your credit report. After the initial letter is sent, you may need to continue following up and providing additional evidence before the entry is finally removed.
Note: Credit repair is not a complicated process, but it can be tedious and difficult to navigate on your own. Specifically, it may be difficult to be taken seriously by credit bureaus if you don't provide the right information and evidence from the beginning. This is why it's useful to work with a credit repair company that has experience helping Montana residents remove false credit entries.
When you are in a bad credit slump, it is easy to lose hope thinking that there is no way out. However, like with anything else in life, a bit of dedication can turn things around. There is no quick way to repair your credit. In order to fix your score legally, it takes time, effort, and proper financial management. Making a point of paying your bills on time is important, so is learning to budget for the month so that you don’t end up spending more than you can really afford. If you have more serious issues with your credit report, or if you just don’t have time to spare sitting on hold for days on end, working with a Montana credit repair company is a great way to fix your credit. They will help to remove derogatory marks and even coordinate consolidations if needed.
Poor financial management is one of the most common causes of poor credit, but medical debt is also just as common. Even if you are good at managing your money and paying your bills on time, a medical emergency can lay waste to all of your well-meaning efforts. A consumer with and without insurance will often find themselves buried in high amounts of medical bills that are simply impossible to keep up with. Not only will this eat up your savings, it will also result in a credit report that is full of negative entries.
A credit repair company in Montana will be able to help you consolidate your medical debt and put your credit back on the road to recovery. They will work with the billing department to audit your fees and also create a single, consolidated bill. This will get rid of late fees, missed payment notations, and the stress that comes with constant collections calls. As you pay your medical consolidation payments on time, your score will start to improve organically. As past late notations and collections fall off, your score will improve even further.
Credit scores can be improved through credit repair only if you have inaccurate entries on your credit report. You can see a huge improvement of your credit score when you successfully remove inaccurate entries. If you don’t have any false entries on your credit report, credit repair won’t be able to help.
The average cost for credit repair in the state of Montana is $89 - $199 per month, but you can find companies offering a wide range of prices from $89 - $249 per month. In the beginning of the contract period, most companies will also charge a one-time fee as part of the setup. This is often much lower than the monthly fee.
There’s no way to accurately predict how long credit repair will take, but the average time it takes is 3 – 6 months from start to finish. Even though credit bureaus are required to all legitimate dispute letters within 30 days, they don’t always complete their investigations in a timely manner. Delays are common, which is why it’s useful to have a credit repair company to follow up with the bureaus on your behalf.
Montana has no cities where credit repair is illegal. You can get service throughout the state, no matter how large or small your local area is. While Billings, Missoula, and Great Falls might be the areas with the most local credit repair companies, you can get this service from anywhere, even in smaller cities like Ronan, Wye, Pryor, or Arlee.