Fix Credit: Dispute Negative Info on Your Credit Report

You as a consumer have rights under the Fair Debt Reporting Act to dispute negative information contained in your credit report. You can dispute negative or falsified information on your credit report by writing a dispute letter to the credit bureau that contains the negative blemish. This can usually be done online as well, while youre reviewing your credit report. Free credit reports are available through sites like annualcreditreport.com and disputes are enabled through a simple click through feature per each entry on the report. Once a dispute letter has been mailed or submitted online the law then requires the credit reporting agencies to take action for the consumer by conducting an investigation of said issue.

With these easy to follow steps you can easily write an effective dispute letter to the credit bureau.

Obtain your credit report: You can obtain a free credit report once a year or if you have been recently declined credit. Annualcreditreport.com provides a truly free credit report that can accelerate the process of sending snail mail. I mean, it is 2009…Order a copy from all three major credit bureaus. Experian, Equifax, TransUnion.

Become Sherlock Holmes: Read through your report with a fine tooth comb…or a slow scrolling mouse…Look for falsified information that may indicate you have been a victim of identity theft. Check the history of revolving accounts for false details, negative statuses, and outdated remarks that may be eligible to be removed.

Specify the items in dispute. Be very specific as to what item youre referencing and as detailed as possible as to what the dispute involves. If you have to use snail mail, send a copy of the credit report along with your dispute, circling which mark is being referenced. Online users can take a screenshot of the online credit report.

Separate the masses: If youre disputing several items youll want to send the disputes individually. As tricky as credit can be you have to imagine the men behind the curtain arent over willing to make that extra effort and sift through pages of email gripes or a manila folder as thick as a bible pointing out mistakes their organization has posted. Make it easy on the credit bureau to review each dispute individually. This is more to your benefit than theirs, trust.

Play nice: CAPPING every word isnt going to come off as cordial. As upset as you may be that you have erroneous marks on youre credit its best not to express yourself as a demanding impatient tyrant. Make your dispute personal and professional. Be polite. They can –read- your smile, lol.

Just the facts maam: Were not writing novels here. These are dispute letters. A definitive, professional, polite, one to two liner dispute per item. You have your goal, stick to it and lay out the facts. Point out the errors and request corrections and confirmations.

This is America! Keep in mind that you have the right to dispute marks on your credit report. Credit bureaus are required to investigate your dispute and can take up to 30 days to research and reply with the outcome of the investigation.

Follow up: Upon completion, you will receive a letter or copy of your credit report that shows their findings from the review. Should you not receive a response after 30 days send another letter reminding them of their obligation to respond and satisfy your submitted dispute. If you do not receive a reply thereafter your next step is to contact the FTC and file a formal complaint against the credit bureau. In the few cases where it escalates to contacting the FTC the disputed items are usually removed immediately for negligence and lack of evidence to support the negative mark.

More Help: If youre credit report looks like gibberish a non-profit credit counseling agency will usually review your report with you for free over the phone, via email, or in person should the service be local. Contact our certified credit counselors at our BBB Rated A+ non-profit credit counseling agency for a free review of your credit report and more helpful information to get your credit back on track. We help people fix credit scores and reduce debt through free financial information and debt elimination programs. Get on the road to financial freedom with Freedom Debt Management, 800-905-1563.

Fixing Credit Report – New Step to Dispute Credit Successfully

Fixing credit report techniques have changed with time.  I figured this out in the last year that I’ve been working on my credit report more aggressively.  I had been sending letters disputing a few collections that were just not budging.  Unfortunately I was starting to consider the idea of just paying the whole thing off and having them agree to delete the item from my report.  I tried working with them while I was going through my rough patch as I like to call it but to them it was pay me now or we go to the next step.  That’s where we are now.

 

I had been reading an old credit book that I picked out of the garage.  One we never bothered to put back on the book shelf after we moved.  Anyway it had great ideas on learning about the credit laws and sending disputes to the credit bureaus.  I had tried that as I mentioned and it wasn’t working with this particular company.

 

Fearing the worst which would be paying these blood suckers the amount requested.  I looked for more information online, as many do everyday.  I was really battling the idea of paying them.  What I think made the difference was the fact that in my initial contact with the company I made the mistake of telling them a little about my plans to buy a home and stuff and I wanted to do it before this whole credit for first time buyers expired.  I can almost bet they made a little note on their system saying they could get more money out of me because I was trying to get ready for this move.

 

Either way, I figured they were blowing my chance at taking advantage of this credit so I looked for better ways to dispute with them.  I got my hands on a fixing credit report manual that outlined a nice little step to deal with credit collection companies that don’t have the required documentation to collect from you.  Here’s what I mean.

 

The credit collection company had to provide me a copy of the original contract and paper work I signed when I applied for the account.  That was something I never thought about.  Just like the book said.  If I owe Joe 300 dollars, would I pay Mary 300 just because she says she’s calling for Joe?  Duh, I never thought of asking for proof of the debt.   By what I learned, I could ask the collection company for the proof of my debt.  Well it worked great.  Not only did they not have the copy of the original paperwork.  The original credit card company had merged with another, making it more difficult for them to source out a copy of the contract.  Needles to say, I paid them nothing and they couldn’t show proof.  This gave me the opportunity to demand the bureaus to remove the item.  That was the twist my dispute letter needed, to make it work.  Again, something I never would have thought about doing while going over ideas on fixing credit report techniques.  In the end I settled with some, disputed others and had duplicates erased.

Fix Credit Reports – Dispute Smart to Improve your Credit Score

What’s a dispute letter?  To fix credit reports its better to think outside of the box.  The reason so many say that credit repair and disputing doesn’t work anymore is that they keep on beating the dead horse.  Meaning they use the same old tired tactics that don’t get any results.  Denying isn’t disputing and that’s what many dispute letters do.  You have to take the law into your own hands.  Wait, let me rephrase that, before anyone goes a little nuts.  You have to use the laws that are in your hands.  That’s better.

 

There are laws that can help you fix credit reports without having to use old tactics that rely on just a delay of time.  That’s what the old tactics did.  They simple expected to have the creditor not comply within the response window and use that as a way to have the derogatory credit account removed.  They’re much faster at responding, some of you might have figured that out already.  That’s why the old dispute letters don’t work.  A smart dispute letter would address certain issues with the account and the collection company.  It would ask a specific question.  Ask for proof of the debt, accounting and perhaps proof of the company’s right to collect from you.  You see how it changes?

 

Another thing is violations to your rights.  I don’t fix credit reports for a living.  I learned all this from research and credit manuals.  I don’t need an expert to read something from a book to me.  I can do that myself and save 1,200 dollars.  The violation issues are usually re-aging of your debt.  By law they cant start the clock on you again.  If they do, they’re negatively affecting your credit reports for a longer period than allowed.  See where this is going?

 

One last thing on collections, it wont fix your credit reports to simply pay a collection.  It can actually do more damage than good.  Depending on how old the collection is it can bring the debt current and have a damaging impact on your credit.  To improve credit reports by paying of collections you have to settle and get a deletion letter.  That letter will have the account removed.  Otherwise, the credit report is simply updated as paid and continues to reflect a negative account.

 

That’s it remember to be smart and you can fix your credit reports.  Take the law and make it work for you.  They’re there to protect you.

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