Many people who look into their reports find that their credit information has errors and those errors usually affect your credit negatively.
Maintaining an accurate score sometimes requires us to be pro-active, and we must write letters to remove information off our credit report. These are sent to the big 3 credit bureaus. Although in many cases the first thing most people want to do is to call the Credit Bureau and tell them off, this would be counterproductive. Instead the best method would be to sit down and write a credit report dispute letter.
You should read your credit report, take notes as to what you consider the problem areas are and think whether what’s on the report could actually be true. If, in finding that what’s on the report is false, you need to think through how you’re going to word your letters to remove info off credit report. You’re going to have to send a copy of this letter to each of the three main credit bureaus: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Be polite and state facts as you see them. See example letter below.
Dear (credit bureau name here),
After looking at a copy of my credit file, I found that it contained erroneous information. I would like to dispute this information and request a correction. I am concerned about the information that you have put in my credit report as it could seriously impair the credit rating I enjoy with lending institutions.
You have not (state the problem here).
Be sure to include the month, and the date, and the name of the business.
I am enclosing a photocopy of my cancelled check as proof of my payment. Hopefully, this will correct the accuracy of my credit file. As you are certainly aware of, the credit bureaus are only allowed to use accurate information in a consumer’s credit file.
Thank you for correcting the above errors to insure that it doesn’t impair my personal credit. Please contact me as soon as the correction has been made and my credit report is again accurate. Please send a copy of my credit report to: (place mailing address here).
Yours,
(Your name)
Be sure to include your full name as listed in your credit report, address, Social Security number, copy of your driver’s license, copy of the credit report, and copy of your proof, i.e. cancelled check.
Be sure to retain a copy of whatever you send to each credit bureau. Make a note of the date that you mail your letters to remove info off credit report. Using certified or registered mail is a good idea, as this will give you proof of the mailing date.
By: Tim Gorman
Posts Tagged ‘Problem Areas’
How To Write Letters To Remove Information Off Your Credit Report
March 22nd, 2010Posted in Articles
Tags: Accuracy Accurate Score Consumer Credit Credit Bureau Credit Dispute Credit Information Credit Rating Credit Report Dispute Credit Report Dispute Letter Equifax Experian Lending Institutions Many People Personal Credit Pro Active Problem Areas Proof Sit Three Main Credit Bureaus Transunion
Bad Credit Report Repair Done Easy
February 2nd, 2010
Usually it’s about the time that someone needs to buy a new car or is about to purchase their first home that they realize that they are going to need to do a little bad credit report repair. While it can be quite costly to hire a professional to help you get your credit rating back on track quickly, there is hope for people who are the more do-it-yourself type and want to save some money.
Bad credit report repair can be done on your own if you have the time and some organizational skills. It is not difficult work to fix your credit, it is just a matter of understanding exactly what makes up your credit score, identifying the problem areas, and then workings swiftly to resolve those issues. All of this can easily be done on your own, without the help of an expensive professional.
The first thing that you need to do is order a copy of your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and Trans Union. You can order a copy from each of the three agencies for free every 12 months, and it only takes a minute. Just go to the Annual Credit Report website, enter in your contact information, and you’ll instantly have an electronic copy of your report, which you can save to your hard drive and print out. Just be sure to visit the official Free Credit Report website, as there are many other that suggest you can receive a free report, but only if you sign up for a trial of their monthly credit monitoring service. The official site, however, has no strings attached.
Once you have downloaded your report, print if off and take out two different color pens or highlighters. You are looking for two things that you want to distinguish from each other. The first thing you are looking for is errors on your report. One in four credit documents include misinformation, so chances are you will find some. The other thing you are looking for, which you want to highlight in a different color, is the accurate information that is negatively affecting your credit score. Each report will be slightly different, so thoroughly and carefully look at each document.
Once you have done that, the next in your bad credit report repair plan is to remove the false information and eliminate the negative information. To do this, make two columns on a sheet of paper that that are labeled, “misinformation” and “negative information.” List your items in the appropriate column, but rank them in terms of their greatest impact on your credit score. For example, if you have a bankruptcy on your credit report that did not occur and a typo in your employer’s address, you want to list the bankruptcy first since having that removed will have the greatest impact on your credit score.
Once you have your items ranked in the proper order, you will have an idea of where you need to focus your energy to improve your credit score the fastest. When disputing items on your credit report, you don’t want to do them all at once. Just take care of the biggest problems first in order to get the most cooperation from the credit bureaus and getting them to act fast.
By: Ryan J. Taylor
Posted in Articles
Tags: 12 Months Annual Credit Report Bad Credit Color Pens Cred Credit Bureaus Credit Documents Credit Equifax Credit Monitoring Service Credit Rating Credit Score Different Color Electronic Copy Equifax Free Credit Report Misinformation New Car Organizational Skills Problem Areas Trans Union
Credit Repair – How to Restore Your Credit Rating
January 20th, 2010
It’s no secret that we live in a credit society. If you have a credit rating of sufficient rank, you can live a very nice life as long as you maintain responsible payment habits. There are vast numbers of Americans that have seen their credit ratings fall to levels that disallow them from acquiring the things that they want out of life – including some of the basic necessities like housing and transportation. If you are one of those people, there is still hope! You can take steps to improve your credit rating. You can restore it to levels where you can breathe again and start enjoying your life. Let’s examine some of these steps now:
• You need to see just what kind of shape your credit is in. It may not be as bad as you think – it may be worse. Check it. Once every year, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus. You are also entitled to a free copy any and every time that you are turned down for a credit card or auto loan. By checking your credit score regularly, you will be better able to identify and rectify problem areas.
• Once you know what the problems are, start fixing them. The first item to check for is erroneous information. There could be clerical errors and the like living on your credit reports and destroying your credit reputation. By immediately notifying the reporting agencies about errors, you have taken the first important step to credit restoration.
• Obviously, one of the biggest credit rating destroyers is not paying your bills on time – so start doing it! Your credit rating is a number that others use to gain insight as to your dependability. Regardless of the reasons that your credit is damaged or broken, today is the day to begin repairing it. Make every payment on time – every time.
• Don’t buy things on credit unless you are absolutely positive that you will be able to pay for them on time. If you even have a little doubt, put the purchase off until a later time.
• Make some small sacrifices here and there and pay your credit cards down. Stop paying that minimum payment each month. After late payments, high credit card balances are the most damaging aspect of your credit rating. If you want to restore your credit rating to desirable levels, pay those cards down and then quit using them so much.
• You can obtain a secured credit card to begin generating the proof that you need to show potential creditors that you can handle responsibility. Most issuers of secured credit cards guarantee reporting your payments every month.
Having bad credit isn’t an end-all situation. With a little time and effort, you can begin to restore your credit rating to the levels that you need and desire. Life goes a lot smoother for you when you have good credit. Start today to restore your credit rating!
By: Chane Steiner
Posted in Articles
Tags: Auto Loan Basic Necessities Clerical Errors Credit Rating Credit Repair Credit Report Credit Reports Credit Reputation Credit Restoration Credit Score Dependability Destroyers How To Restore Your Credit Insight Major Credit Bureaus Payment Habits Problem Areas Three Major Credit Bureaus Time Don Today Is The Day
