Can I Do Cheap Credit Repair?

Ok, so how do you do this yourself?

Get your credit reports (and probably your FICO scores) so you know where to start. Use a highlighter to mark all the items that you see first that are obvious errors. (Did you ever have an account with this credit card? etc) There are so many errors! Start with the obvious.

Did you know that a vast majority of the errors are because a data entry clerk entered the wrong information or even account numbers? They are people too, and errors are made. Think about how many millions of people are out there with credit reports just in the US alone.

Now you need to go to work writing your dispute letters! Make several copies of your report if necessary and attach the page with the error or dispute, also highlighted so the agency can clearly see entry or entries you are disputing. In your dispute letter be sure to address each account with the reason you are disputing it separately in the body of the letter. Keep a log of what you are disputing, who you mailed it to and the date it was mailed!

Each of us is entitled (thanks to congress) to one free credit report per year. They do keep track so don't try to use it more than once.

Order by mail:
"Annual Credit Report Request Form" = http://frc.gov./credit to have the form mailed to you.

On the internet:
www.annualcreditreport.com

When you use the internet site you will probably be offered some of the "Free Credit Report Now" stuff and also possible a monthly credit monitoring system which costs $$ per month. You don't need that stuff right now.

You will, however have to pay a fee somewhere in the agency cites to get your real FICO score - anywhere from about $6.95 to $11.95. This is worth it to get a base line of where you are starting from.

First, let me tell you the rules for disputing a credit account. The reporting agency has 30 days to contact the creditor to verify the account. The creditor must respond within that 30 days and provide research facts that the account was or was not yours, when late payments occured and that there were indeed late payments made.

Next - this is not the pleasant part - if the account can't be researched within the 30 days, the agency may send you a letter saying they do not yet have information and are still researching.

You can go to each credit reporting agency and sign in - they will ask you some questions to verify that you are actually the account holder. You should have your credit report in front of you because some of the questions may come off the actual report - like an account number or when you use to live at a certain address.

Here are the web address for each of the big three reporting agencies:

www.equifax.com

www.transunion.com

www.experian.com

Credit Repair is not done in one fell swoop! It will take some effort and followup on your part. As you have no doubt learned from my other lenses, if the credit agency you are filing the dispute with cannot research your account with the original creditor they may notify you that they are working on it. They may send you a letter to that effect.

I personally had one account that I was disputing that was old enough they could not obtain any information on it. However, they did not remove it even though they are suppose to. I had to write some pretty demanding letters (I think I even quoted part of the laws) before I finally got their attention!

You (and/or your spouse) need to keep track of where you are in each dispute. You may have to continue the followup 2, 3, or more times. Yes, some disputes happen right away, but some will take time.

You need a tracking system!