Your Credit CAN Be Repaired

Nationwide people are being told that there is nothing that can be done to fix their credit report. They need to wait seven years for the information to drop off in order or their credit to be fixed. There are criminals who spend less time in prison. We want to make the following point very clear to consumer:

YOUR CREDIT REPORT CAN BE REPAIRED !!!!

The following information can be found being sold on many other web sites. The asking price ranges anywhere from $10 to $100. We provide this information for free. We feel that the consumers should be made aware that they do not have to be victims of the Credit Reporting Agencies (CRA's). In fact, it is the CRA's who are dishing out this propaganda. The CRA's are businesses that are intent on making profit. They make money from their clients, the creditors. If it weren't for the federal government invoking the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in 1971, the CRA's would simply ignore consumers. It is the application of this law that allows consumers to repair their credit reports.

Before proceeding, we want to make one point very clear:
You can repair your own credit, but you may want to consider retaining the services of professionals. These individuals will write the letters on your behalf and will put their experience at your disposal. The links below will connect you to just such an organization.

A consumer's rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (effective 1971, amended 1978, 1989, 1992 and 1994) includes:

If a consumer is declined for credit, the creditor must provide the name and address of the CRA which was used in obtaining the consumer's credit report
Upon request by consumers, a CRA must:
- Disclose to the consumer all information contained on their credit reports
- Investigate disputed information and make the appropriate correction
- Allow consumers to include a statement on their credit report
If a correction has been made to the credit report, the CRA is required to advise all recent parties who have received the consumer's credit report of the correction
A CRA can only keep negative credit information on file for a maximum of 7 years (10 for bankruptcies)
A CRA may only provide your credit report to those businesses or individuals who have a permissible purpose for the information.

An expansion of the above will show how this law can serve consumers who want to fix their credit:

A consumer has the right to dispute information contained on their credit report based on the completeness and accuracy of the information
The CRA must investigate this dispute within a reasonable amount of time (established to be 30 days)
If the information cannot be confirmed or is inaccurate, the CRA must delete the information
CRA's must assume a dispute is valid unless there is evidence to the contrary
The CRA's must contact the creditors to confirm the validity of the information

The last point is important as the CRA must verify the information with the source, that is, the creditor. Many creditors simply do not bother confirming the information thus resulting in a deletion. Also, older records may be stored "off site" and cannot be accessed within the time limit of the investigation. The consumer can put these facts to good use.

The CRA itself may be overloaded and cannot complete the investigation in time thus resulting in a deletion.

You must note that the CRA's have the right to ignore any disputes which they have reason to believe to be frivolous or irrelevant.

Look at Your Credit Report

Take a good long look at your credit report. Accounts with any of the following notations need to addressed:

Bankruptcy
Foreclosure
Repossession
Loan defaults
Collections (paid or not)
Court judgments
Past due and unpaid payments (accounts rated higher than R1, O1 & I1)
Late payments
Credit rejections
Inquiries

Incorrect Information Due to the number of people who are involved in keeping records of your payment history, human error will eventually creep into the picture. It has been estimated that at least 50% of the population have a credit with incorrect information. When reviewing your credit report, look for the following:

An account that does not belong to you
An Incorrect account number
Incorrect date of the account (eg date opened or last activity date)
Incorrect status (eg active when the account is closed)
Items shown as "included in bankruptcy" when you never filed
Balance owing incorrect (eg. Shows $1000 owing when it really is only $300)
Incorrect late pay history (eg showing 6 late pays when there were only 3)
An account history older than the age of the account
Wrong account type (eg a revolving account when it is an installment account)
Duplicate account information
Incorrect personal information (eg wrong DOB)
Previous address wrong (eg. you never lived at an address indicated)

Remember that your dispute of the information can only be based on the completeness or the accuracy of the information. If you see any of the above or any other error on your credit report, have it corrected or deleted.

What Really Happens

Now you are all ready to take on the big bad Credit Reporting Agencies (CRA's). However, its not quite that simple. The dispute resolution system of the CRA's is designed to stall and discourage consumers from filing disputes. Every dispute that is investigated takes away from the profit earned by the CRA's. If a dispute can be ignored, it will be. The CRA's main line of defence is the inspector who first reads your letter of dispute. If your letter is too long, vague or complex, it may be simply tossed aside and you will receive a letter advising you that your dispute is frivolous. Otherwise, you may receive a letter requesting further information in an attempt to stall your dispute. As the CRA intends, most consumers get frustrated and give up at this point. The trick is to word your letter appropriately so the CRA takes notice and begins an investigation.

To prevent having your letter tossed aside, avoid the following:

Submitting a lengthy letter (over one page)
Providing justification for the negative credit (you just confirmed the information!)
Not stating what you want done with the disputed information
Repeating a recent dispute
Not providing a reason why the negative items are to be deleted or improved
Sounding like a law book (quoting laws)
Using form letters or even the form provided by the credit bureau
Being rude or abusive
Being very timid in your approach
Disputing the same item within 90 days of your previous dispute

To make sure that your dispute is taken seriously, you must include the following in your letter:

Clearly identify the information you are disputing in your letter
Indicate if you are disputing the existence of the record, or the accuracy of the information.
Provide a clear reason why you dispute the information (eg. I was never late, I never had this account)
State what you want done with (eg. do you want the item deleted or updated)
Provide facts to support your dispute (if submitting documentation, do not send originals)

Once you have your letter accepted as a legitimate dispute, the CRA will investigate your dispute. With any luck, they will not be able to confirm the information in time and will delete the information. However, if the creditor does report back to the CRA after the investigation is completed, the information can be placed back on your credit report. In this case you can dispute the information again at a later date. You will find that on an average, one out of three disputes will result in a deletion or update to your credit record. The two remaining disputes can be resolved, but you need to be more aggressive.

If the CRA takes a little longer than 30 days to complete its investigation, there is nothing you can do. If too much time elapses, you can write to the CRA to invoke a response.

All of these web sites that are selling information about credit repair are simply doing one thing: telling you to write a letter to the CRA. The trick is how to go about wording your letter and keeping track of your results. In order to get the results you want, you need to be a highly organized individual who does not easily give up. You have to keep track of your letters and respond to the CRA's in a timely manner. You cannot procrastinate in sending a response to the CRA's if you expect to able to repair your credit.

The Do's of Credit Repair

Make each successive letter more aggressive then the last
Take full advantage of any errors or discrepancies on your credit report
Be professional and courteous
Use the approach of a frustrated consumer
Send your dispute via registered mail
If the CRA rejects your dispute, send a response but be more aggressive

The Don'ts of Credit Repair
Do Not:

Pay off old, outstanding debts without considering the affects on your credit report
Include a 100 word statement on your credit report explaining your situation
Lie on your letter of dispute
Use the forms the credit bureau sends along with your credit report
File another dispute before 90 days have passed from the previous filing
Handwrite your dispute, have them typed
State that you will sue the CRA when you have no intention of doing so

The Bad News

Before you fire up your word processor and launch your dispute letters, you need to be aware that repairing your credit report is a very time consuming affair. Remember that you have to REPAIR THREE CREDIT REPORTS, NOT JUST ONE. If one item is to be corrected, it needs to be done with each of the CRA's. That means three letters of dispute and three possible responses. Depending on how complicated your credit report is, it could take you over a year to achieve the results you are looking for. There is also the danger that you may actually do further damage to your credit report. We are not trying to dissuade you repairing your own credit. We are simply pointing out that your credit can be repaired, however it can be difficult. If you have a few blemishes on your credit report, you can most likely do the work yourself. However, if you have many negative items on your credit report, it may be time to turn to a professional. Fixing your own credit can be compared to representing yourself in court. You can do so, but may be better off retaining the services of a professional.