You’ve heard a lot about business loans for bad credit, but what happens if your poor credit rating isn’t your fault? Apparently nothing; at least that’s currently the case according to a recent study conducted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). They reviewed 3,000 credit reports with a pool of affected consumers and found that nearly 21% of the participants had been victimized by their own credit report. Worse yet, over 5% of those reporting errors were enough to lower their credit score.

How are these findings possible? That’s what the FTC wants to know, and they aren’t alone. It is estimated that more than 10 million people are living with undeserved credit penalties. These penalties can lead to:

• Higher interest rates on all loans, including business loans for bad credit
• Insurance and mortgage hikes
• Rental disqualification
• Higher costs of financing

This article will tell you how to survive and thrive even if you’ve been affected by this grim prospect.

The Value of Transparency

For the participants in the FTC study, the next step was greatly simplified. They had help from government representatives to get the credit errors resolved. Nothing induces the apathetic to act quite like a government watchdog over one shoulder.

The trouble is the everyday consumer doesn’t have that same luxury. They are left to fend for themselves as unresponsive credit agencies simply let the errors ride unchecked. What resources do these lone wolves have against their erroneous creditors? At the moment, there isn’t a whole lot that they can do. The FTC recommends:

• Checking your credit report several times a year
• Reporting any errors to the offending credit agency
• Making repeated calls until the issue is resolved

According to what’s already on the regulatory books, you’re supposed to be informed in writing if you are “in any way disadvantaged by unfavorable credit.” Just like the correction of errors, this safeguard is often disregarded completely, leaving so-called “disadvantaged” people in the dark.

The FTC is working to update the laws so that:

• Credit reports are made completely transparent to the consumer
• You know exactly what information creditors are collecting about you
• You will have the ability to sue offending creditors who violate federal regulations

However, these amendments to the pre-existing law are going to take a while to curb the problem; what can you do to rebuild your credit in the meantime? Gather information about applying for business loans for bad credit.

An Unconventional Credit Solution

Advance Funds Network (AFN) can help you improve your business credit rating no matter what the creditors say. As long as you have a solid payment history or proof of steady revenue, business loans for bad credit can actually help you rebuild your credit history.

Set up a repayment schedule with an AFN lender, stick to it, and pay off the outstanding balance. If you can do that, you’ve taken your first step toward returning to healthy credit.