How to Dispute Your Experian Credit Report
You can request your credit reports from all three major credit bureaus using a single source: AnnualCreditReport.com. But if you find an error in any of your reports — for example, an incorrect…
Bev O'Shea
Bev writes about credit scores and credit reports for NerdWallet. Her work has been featured in USA Today, the Christian Science Monitor and MSN Money. She mostly follows her own advice about not worrying about a perfect score (although she had one for at least a few minutes). In her free time, she enjoys music, fitness, murder mysteries and dark chocolate.
Posts by Bev O'Shea:
Taking 3 Steps to Improve Your Credit Could Add Up to 100 Points
Building your credit can make life easier, giving you a better chance of qualifying for loans or credit cards. You might get lower interest rates, better car insurance rates and a…
Equifax and Fiction: 4 Data Breach Myths to Dismiss
The details of the massive Equifax data breach are jaw-dropping. The personal data of 143 million Americans — names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, and in some cases driver’s license and…
Equifax Messed Up — Who Pays? You Do
In the days since the credit reporting agency Equifax disclosed the breach of 143 million consumers’ private financial data, howls of outrage have only grown louder. Dozens of potential class-action…
What Is an Adverse Action Notice?
If you apply for credit and don’t get it, federal law requires the creditor to tell you why. That explanation is called an adverse action notice or adverse action letter.…
Lock Down Your Data After Equifax Breach — Right Now
Chances are good that the Equifax data breach affects you. What do you do next? The short answers: Consider a credit freeze. Scrutinize your credit statements. And check your credit reports from all…
The Credit Move That Can Bump Up Your Score in 30 Days
Building credit takes time, and there aren’t many shortcuts. But paying your credit card bill early could give you a boost in just 30 days. Ted Rood, a senior loan…
How to Freeze Your Credit, and Why You Might Want To
Freezing your credit is your strongest tool to keep criminals from accessing your credit without your consent. And the recent Equifax data breach that affected about 143 million consumers offers a compelling…
How I Ditched Debt: Newly Single, ‘I Knew I Had to Help Myself’
In this series, NerdWallet interviews people who have triumphed over debt using a combination of commitment, budgeting and smart financial choices. Their stories may even inspire you to pay off…
How Paying Rent Can Affect Your Credit
A lot of people who don’t have much in the way of a credit history do have a history of paying rent on time. If that information showed up on their…
