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How to dispute bad credit
It doesn't matter if you are wanting to fix credit chargeoffs or you are removing derogatory marks on your credit that have been there over 2 years, the process is the same: Once a dispute is filed with the bureau, it is the creditor's responsibility to respond to the credit bureau's inquiry about the disputed item.
This means that if your disputed items are not answered by the creditor within a reasonable time, federal law requires that such items must be deleted from the credit bureau's files.
To start with, you can get a free copy of your credit report once each year from each of the big three credit bureaus -- TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Once you have the latest copies of your credit reports, carefully read all three credit reports thoroughly, paying attention to uncover: You should receive your updated report within 30-45 days. Pay careful attention to whether or not all of the corrections and deletions you requested are now reflected on the new report. Advice on making credit score better -- If you find errors in your credit history, write to the credit bureau and dispute the entries. This site can help teach you about removing late payments from a credit report yourself. Use our example letters to remove things off your credit.
If you aren't satisfied with the final results, don't fret. You are within your rights to add a 100-word statement to your credit report indicating your side of the story. We offer you a free example of this type of credit dispute letter later in this article. How To Improve Your Credit Rating
You may be wondering: "What's the importance of my credit rating?" The answer, in short, is your credit rating is the sum of your past credit habits.
How you've made and paid off your debts, how timely you've been making regular repayments, and types and even amounts of your debts, all affect your credit rating.
A bad credit rating can reduce your ability to borrow funds because the lender might not be sure that you'll pay back on time... or at all.
A bad credit rating can also raise the interest rate you are charged on future loans.
Finally, a bad credit rating has been known to be a factor in hiring decisions and what insurance companies charge for insurance premiums and whether or not you'll qualify for a new, low-interest rate credit card.
Getting a better credit rating takes attention to detail, follow-through, and a commitment to repay the money you borrow -- and ensure that the credit reporting agencies report the correct facts!
Here are the simple steps to cleaning up errors lurking in your credit reports, and thereby improving your ability to borrow money for investments, long-term beneficial purchases, college education, a new car or a new home, etc. Follow the advice for rebuilding credit scores by 60-90 points. This info regarding repairing and raising your credit score will lead you step-by-step through these easy to learn procedures: Step #1 -- Request credit report from each credit reporting agency in your area.
Step #2 -- Dispute all inaccurate entries in writing and mail to respective agencies. Step #3 -- Review updated credit reports you'll receive in 60-90 days. Detect any items which were not removed into another letter (basically repeting Step #2
until erroneous entry has been removed.) Mail this letter 120 days from last updated report you receive. Step #4 -- If all else fails, you can write a 100-word statement entry that explains your side of the story for entries you cannot get removed by any other means. Credit reporting agencies do not grant credit or approve loans. They merely compile the credit information forwarded on to them. They are not "out to get you," and certain federal laws have been put into place over the years to ensure that if errors have been made in your credit report, those same credit reporting agencies must promptly remove the erroneous information. With these instructions you can take action yourself to begin to restore your credit yourself and help start the process of raising your FICO credit score.
Get our complete step-by-step credit repair instrucitons, including sample letters you can copy-and-paste to dispute errors you find in your credit reports. You get the addresses and phone numbers where you can write to fix your own credit yourself.
Go review "Get Better Credit Now!" today and find out how to remove credit report errors and outdated information to raise your credit score and get yourself better credit!
For more information, take the time to read: "How To Read & Understand Your Credit Report"
Have more questions about fixing your credit score? Find more answers here at: "Frequently Asked Questions About Credit Repair"
To read the PDF version of the full Fair Credit Reporting Act from the FTC's website, click here...
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Those who have had their applications for credit, employment or insurance rejected due to bad credit know all too well the woes of having a negative credit report. It is therefore important for you to strive for a good credit score by having a negative credit report repaired. Yet, with the costs that come with professional credit repair, it may be best for you to do your own credit report repairs. Credit repair is not rocket science, and you can easily clean up your credit report using the tips below. 1. Order your credit report - The first thing to do is to check your credit report. You can access your report from any of the three credit bureaus namely Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. You are entitled to a free credit report once a year from each of these bureaus, and you can order it through AnnualCreditReport.com. Also remember that you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report in the event that you are denied credit or employment due to your credit report information. In this regard, the company to which you applied must provide you with the name, address and telephone details of the credit bureau. 2. Examine your credit report - It is up to you to ensure that there are no errors in your credit report by carefully going through it checking for errors such as typos, outdated information, as well as incomplete or inaccurate account history. Should you find anything that needs correcting, you should list it down in order to dispute it, ensuring that you provide reasons for the dispute as well. On the other hand if the negative reporting is true, you will only be able to repair the damage by changing your future credit habits for the better, by say, consistently paying your bills on time. 3. Dispute errors - In order to dispute inaccurate information on your credit report, you will need to either complete a dispute form which is provided with your credit report or write a letter to the credit bureau. Ensure that each error is clearly identified and give reasons why you maintain that the particular information is wrong. One easy way to do this is to circle the errors on the report, photocopy the document and then send it to the credit bureau, along with any supporting documents you have. Always remember to retain all copies of letters, completed forms and any other documents that you send to the credit bureau, as well as records of the dates they were sent. In some instances, you may have to contact your creditors yourself in order to have an error corrected. 4. Negotiate debt repayment: You will thereafter need to come up with a good money management plan which will help you to control your expenses, reduce your debt and enable you to pay them on time. If you are finding it hard to repay your debts, you may negotiate with your creditors to keep your accounts current and avoid their being reported as being delinquent or bad credit. You may request that they reduce your monthly payments or even change the due dates in order to help you balance out your bills each month. Do the same for fixed-loan payments and use the extra money to pay off your debts, while gradually increasing payments to other debts. You may also negotiate a pay-off settlement which will reduce your bills on collection accounts, as well as demand that any negative comments be removed from your credit report or be reported as having been fully paid up. Ensure that you have all such negotiations included in written agreements before issuing payment. 5. Reduce credit accounts - It would be wise to close out credit accounts that you do not use or need, and only remain with between 2 - 4 credit cards. However, take care not to damage your credit score in the process, by ensuring that you keep the ratio of your total revolving debt to 50% of your total available credit. In order to do this: o close out the accounts gradually over several months
6. Stabilize your credit report: In order to add positive information to your credit report, you may request creditors to report your account information, as well as monthly payment history to a credit bureau which will help demonstrate stability in your credit file. Taking out secured credit cards will also help you build a solid credit history. However, do no make too many applications because the more the "inquiries" listed in your report, the lower your credit score becomes. Also remember to open a savings bank account to demonstrate to your creditors that you are working on saving money to repay your debts. Joan One is a freelance journalist and creative writer who immensely enjoys writing and researching into any topic under the Sun. Article courtesy of Joan One
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