Most people don't know, but repairing your credit is something that you can do and it's pretty simple. Even though it is easy and simple, it is a bit tedious but well worth the returns. Did you know that by repairing your credit you can not only save hundreds if not thousands of dollars per month on interest but also reduce your overall debt and reduce stress!
To repair your credit you will to dispute items on with the Credit Reporting Agencies, this can either be done by mail or email and sometimes online depending on the agency.
- The first thing you need to do is order copies of your credit report from the three credit bureaus, Equifax, Transunion and Experian. You can do this at www.annualcreditreport.com it's free and you can get all three. Becareful though, they try to sell you things you don't need.
- Use THE SAMPLE CREDIT DISPUTE LETTER BELOW to dispute your claims to each creditor who has reported something negative about you on your credit report. The creditor's address/phone number information should be on your credit report. Keep in mind, most of these agencies also let you dispute online.
- Wait 30 days from when the creditor received your claim. If they have not gotten back to you in this allotted timeframe, they are legally obligated to remove your claim. If they have gotten back to you and disagreed with your claim, resend and wait. If they have gotten back to you and agreed with your claim, they should remove their claim against you and report their error to the credit bureaus. You should then move to step 4.
- There are 3 ways to dispute your claim to the credit bureaus, online, by phone, or by mail. Experian makes you dispute your claim online, the other 2 allow you the other options. The addresses of where to fight your claim to the credit bureaus will be listed on your credit report or you can find them online.
- They should send you updated copies of your credit reports as the either confirm or delete items off the report. If you don't receive them you can request them in writing, you can do so every 30-45 days.
- If you don't want to do any of the Heavy Lifting, then I would suggest a credit repair company. One that I have personally used is www.lexingtonlaw.com they charge a one time fee (last I checked it was $89.00) and a $39.00 per month fee. They walked you through everything and dispute your negative items for you. It usually takes them 4-6 months to get most stuff off keep in mind you need to make sure and follow the directions.
- Some other Credit Repair Techniques are the following: Keep your balances 1/3 of your Limit i.e $10,000 credit limit don't have the balance more than $3,300. You're better off having more open lines at low balances then one or two high balance to limit. Stop applying for credit you don't need! Say no to the 10% off and free towel and just build good credit! Another thing you can do is ask for increases on current balances to change the ratio in your favor. Keep in mind that you still need to manage that money, its credit, but you have to pay it back.
If you have any questions I'm pretty familiar with how credit is built and how it's destroyed so I can walk you through fixing it, keeping it or establishing it!
THE SAMPLE CREDIT DISPUTE LETTER
Your Name
123 Your Street Address
Your City, ST 01234
The Credit Bureau
Bureau Address
Anytown, State 56789
Date
Dear Credit Bureau,
This letter is a formal complaint that you are reporting inaccurate credit information.
I am very distressed that you have included the below information in my credit profile due to its damaging effects on my good credit standing. As you are no doubt aware, credit reporting laws ensure that bureaus report only accurate credit information. No doubt the inclusion of this inaccurate information is a mistake on either your or the reporting creditor's part. Because of the mistakes on my credit report, I have been wrongfully denied credit recently for a <insert credit type for which you were denied here>, which was highly embarrassing and has negatively impacted my lifestyle.
optional With the proof I'm attaching to this letter, I'm sure you'll agree it needs to be removed ASAP.
The following information therefore needs to be verified and deleted from the report as soon as possible:
CREDITOR AGENCY, acct. 123-34567-ABC
Please delete the above information as quickly as possible.
Sincerely,
your signature
Your Name
SSN# 123-45-6789
Attachment included.
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