Being a person who had bad credit myself, I can tell you that we aren't bad people. Life just sometimes throws us a curve ball or two that keeps us from meeting some of our financial obligations. Some credit bureaus and the credit scoring companies want you to believe it is impossible to remove accurate information from credit files. The key word here is "accurate", the reports are plagued with inaccuracies, this inaccuracies allows consumers to dispute and in more often than not have derogatory information removed from the credit files.
The process of clearing credit can be arduous and frustrating, but your efforts will be paid for in better financing. Your rights are protected by laws, but you need to learn these laws ("FDCPA and FCRA") in order to use them. Remember these companies spend million's of dollars advertising and enacting laws that make it difficult for us consumers to clean our credit files. But with some patience, perseverance and dedication, you too can clean your credit file. Here are the basic steps when cleaning a credit file;
1. Order hard copies of your credit reports from the three major credit sites.
"Equifax":http://wwww.equifax.com
"Experian":http://www.experian.com
"TransUnion":http://www.transunion.com
Hard copies are important, especially when you are beginning your repair, as they are the most accurate reports. 3-in-1 reports that you purchase on sites can give you a picture of what your file looks like but they can contain inaccuracies that are not on the real files.
In addition to the above reports, I would get a copy of myfico reports, so that you can have a baseline of your fico score and monitor your progress as you go on your repair journey.
"MyFico":http://www.myfico.com
2. Check for discrepancies on your credit files, things to look for;
A- High credit limit, is the high credit limit listed on the account accurate?
B- Balance, is the balance on the trade line accurate?
C- Date opened, is the date the account was opened correct?
D- Payment history, is the information reflected correct? If there are late payments listed on the account, where you late on the months listed or on difference months?
Basically look at anything on the trade line that is out of place and not accurate.
3. After going trough your credit report write down all the errors or discrepancies that you found on your Credit file.
4. Now send a dispute letter to the credit bureaus, they will have their address listed on the credit report. It is important that you send this dispute via certified mail, return receipt requested. This way you have a record of when the letter was sent and when the credit bureau received it. This information will come in handy later if the credit bureau tries to play the old "I never received a dispute card". It also helps you establish a time line, from the time they receive the dispute they have 30 days to either confirm the information or correct the information. The way they do this is as follows;
Once the credit bureau receives the dispute, they must contact the creditor in question with the disputed information the creditor has 30 days to answer the dispute. If they fail to do so, then the Credit Bureau must remove the information as they where unable to confirm it and it will be deemed inaccurate. Remember they are not supposed to have inaccurate information on their files.
Please write your own letter but here is an example;
Dear Repository:
This letter is a formal complaint that you appear to be reporting inaccurate and incomplete credit information.
The information referenced below needs to be investigated. If indeed the information you are reporting is found to be in error or you do not receive a timely answer from the data furnisher the item must be deleted from the report as soon as possible:
The account(s) which are in question are as follows:
*Account name* *Account Number* *Reason*
The listed items are completely inaccurate and incomplete, and is a very serious error in reporting. Please cure or delete this misleading information.
Under federal law, you have thirty (30) days to complete your investigation.
Sincerely,
5. After the 30 days have passed, look at your files. Did the credit bureau correct the inaccurate information? Did they delete the trade line, was the trade line updated in any way shape or form. If the answer is no to the above questions. Follow up by sending another certified letter, this time request that they remove the inaccurate information since they did not receive a response from the original creditor. Attach a copy of the first dispute letter and attach a copy of the certified return receipt.
6. If the credit bureau fails to remedy or remove the inaccurate information, then you have the necessary paper trail to pursue legal action against them. This however will not be covered in this article.
Please keep in mind that each case is different, there are several things to consider prior to attempting to correct your credit file. Are the accounts being disputed out of the statue of limitations? Each State has a different statue of limitations, that allows a creditor to sue the consumer in the court of law for notes or monies owed to them. Lets say that the statue of limitations is 4 year on your state and you allegedly owe $3000 on a credit card; you stopped paying that credit card 3 years ago and the credit card company never took you to court or sued you for the money. The last thing you might want to do is wake up the sleeping giant. So please keep in mind that there are dangers to cleaning your file prior to expiration of the statue of limitation.
Note that statue of limitation and reporting limitation for credit bureaus are two different things, credit bureaus must delete negative information after 7 years of inactivity, bankruptcies can remain up to 10 years. Good luck on your journey.
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