The key to repairing your bad credit is the Credit Dispute Letter. You’ve put so much effort (probably a lot of cash too) into eliminating old debts and creating good credit but if you want to rewrite history, credit-wise, you’ve got to convince the credit bureaus to take the eraser to your past. Getting the letter just right requires a lot more than perfect prose. As is so often true with life, success can come from what you don’t say, what you do, how you say it and never forget… timing.
When composing a Credit Dispute Letter remember the old adage: Less it more. Your letter isn’t meant to convince anyone but to point out errors. You are not saying “why” a debt is not listed accurately on your report, but rather “what” is not listed accurately. Start with a simple statement that will explain what you want the the credit bureau to do: On reviewing my credit report, I haved found these discrepancies. Please delete them from my credit report within 30 days as required by law and send me a report of the corrections” – that pretty much sums up everything, doesn’t it. The fact is you don’t need to beg them to remove old credit items, it is there legal responsibility to research anything you say is incorrect and IF they can’t prove it true they must delete it.
Now list virtually everything that could hurt your credit worthiness. It is up to you to decide if you want an item on your report but they probably won’t delete everything, so be aggressive. List the creditor, account number and amount of each item you would like gone. Use no more than three words of explaination: “account never late”, “duplicated account”, or “reported in error” should cover 90% of disputed items. Never say that a credit blemish is from fraud or criminal activity because you are saying that it is reporting true and you will have to prove you aren’t to blame. Say as little as possible.
It is the credit bureaus responsibility to act within 30 days but you want them to know when the clock starts. Send any Credit Dispute Letters certified mail with a signature required. From the moment someone signs for that letter they have 30 days to contact the reported creditors and get a written verification of the bad credit items. Time is on your side and you want the bureaus to know that.
By: Mitchell Torek
Posts Tagged ‘Repairing Credit’
The Perfect Credit Dispute Letter
April 7th, 2010Credit Repair Firms – Are They Really Worth It?
March 27th, 2010
When you are in need of some financial relief, then you need to start by researching the best places to go for the most up-to-date information. You can get started online by researching some of the credit advisors and information provided to you on these websites. Although there are several great credit repair firms out there, I personally know of a lot of people who have had some decent success with Lexington Credit Repair and it is as good place as any to find some solace. You can literally place your credit and your credit report in the hands of those who know all about repairing credit.
Today, it is more important than ever before to have excellent credit. In a day and age where unemployment is high and the real estate market is failing, those who have excellent credit are those who will stand while those who do not are unable to make it in the toughest of times. If you don’t have good credit, you must take the initiative and work on your credit. It’s the only way to have peace of mind when everything falls apart in your financial life.
What a lot of people don’t realize is that when the economy is bad and jobs aren’t secure, the credit history you have or have worked to build is the only thing you will have when everything else is gone. If you aren’t able to buy a home because you don’t have the money or your job isn’t secure, it is going to be a good bill of health on your credit report that will save you. It may even be all you have when you need financial resources.
Credit repair firms such as Ovation and Lexington Law can ensure you keep your credit report in top shape. If you know you’re credit history is less than desirable, it may already be time to check out Lexington.
Credit repair isn’t a tough task to undergo but at the same time, ignoring credit issues will not make the bad credit go away if you don’t have good credit. If you need assistance in building up your credit or if you need to update a creditor’s reporting on your credit history, a service can help you find the resources needed to handle this more efficiently.
There are plenty of steps to take when you want to build up your good credit reputation but if you have bad credit, you need to do this now before it is too late. If you know you have a few blemishes to take care of then the first thing you need to do is talk to someone to find out how to do this in the least amount of time possible.
When you have good credit, you don’t have to worry about your family or yourself in the worst of times. If you have an emergency situation, you can get the money you need to take care of the sudden events that warrant cash in hand but without good credit; it’s difficult, if not impossible. Today, there’s a way to fix the problem credit. However, you have to be proactive and keep a keen eye on your credit report.
By: Dave M Williams
Easy Credit Repair.Yeah Right!
January 20th, 2010
Repairing your credit is something that is very “easy” to do …. NOT!!! There are tons of sites online telling you that you should repair your own credit but what they leave out is one simple truth. It is tedious and you are normally going to receive a letter from the credit bureau telling you that the info is correct. Take it from me, I did this for about six months before I realized they did give a d@mn whether the info was correct or not. I wasted countless hours writing and researching until the realization finally set in that the only thing I was doing was going in circles.
The fact of the matter was that there are companies (legal & legitimate) that were able to get more accomplished than I could. Try this, go to a hospital, tell them you are a doctor and ask to be prepped operate on someone. See how far the personnel will allow you to go before calling security. Credit repair works the same way. In order to make any headway, you have to know what you are doing and HOW to do it. You wouldn’t ask the person at the local drive-thru to give you your annual check-up or perform some high-risk surgery on you… would you? While you “CAN” repair your credit the fact of the matter is that your probably will take MUCH longer than someone who is skilled in this undertaking.
If you go to any of the “BIG 3” credit bureaus websites you will note that each has a section on avoiding credit repair agencies. They say that everything that these companies offer can be done on your own but what they don’t say is that they respond to these companies (positively) where you would be lucky just to word the letters correctly so that they’ll “actually investigate” your file. You can improve your credit fairly quickly (3-8 months) but you will need people that are skilled, legitimate, legal, and affordable in your corner. Watch out for all of the “too good to be true” repair scams, and there are tons of them out there.
Do you honestly think the bureaus want to do the work necessary to investigate your file? Take it from me, I repaired my credit within 8 months (560 to 705 and still rising) and didn’t know everything that I know now. Learn from my mistakes and start now.
By: Mark Redd
