Steps to Self Credit Repair and Restoration
The steps to self credit repair are possible thanks to the laws that govern the credit bureaus and creditors. With a little time and effort you can be on your way to an A+ credit rating.
Here are the six steps to self credit repair and restoration;
1, Obtain a copy of your credit reports- The first task on the agenda is to instantly get your hand on your credit reports. The fastest and easiest way to do this is by going to the website annualcreditreport.com. Under the improved Fair Credit Reporting Act you are entitled to a free copy once every twelve months from each of the bureaus, Equifax, Transunion and Experian. Once you get to the site you will be asked to verify some personal information but the good thing is that you can download the reports instantly!
Keep in mind that you are only entitled to your credit reports for free but not your credit scores. (steps continued below) 2, Review each report thoroughly- Remember you credit profile is three fold, you might find some negative information on one, and not present on the others. Once you get your hands on each of the reports get a highlighter and rank the negative items starting with the most damaging. Here is a list starting with the most damaging item in terms of the type of account. Foreclosure, Bankruptcy, Repossession, Loan Default, Court Judgments, Collections, Past Due Payments, Credit inquires.
Also remember that the newer negative items on your credit report carry more weight than older ones. So you want to focus your attention to items that have been recently placed on your credit report.
Be on the lookout for items that are not yours, errors as well as accounts that have been paid in full but still reflect a balance. Revolving accounts that are more than seven years old need to also come off your report. This includes both negative and closed accounts.
3, Request account corrections and deletions- The next step is to request an account be corrected or deleted from your credit report. According to the FCRA you can give a reason for your dispute and one popular one is that the account is “not mine”. This will work to have the account deleted if the account cannot be verified with the original creditor when the credit bureaus send over their investigation. But this is just the beginning, you can dispute just about anything on a particular account. Here is a list account details which you can dispute: A, Credit limit on the account B, Account type C, Incorrect creditor name D, Incorrect date of last activity E, Incorrect balance F, Incorrect credit limit
The bureaus need to verify these details from the creditor which does not happen in a good percentage of cases due to bad records on the part of the creditors. Millions of people have had account negatives deleted this way! I have also found from dealing with mortgage clients of mine that every dispute situation is different, and the best resource I refer them to for indepth dispute knowledge is the
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4, Send disputes via Registered Mail- Due to the fact that the bureaus have a timeline with which they must handle your dispute, you want to make sure you have records of when they received your mail and the best way to do that is to send your letters by registered mail. This way you will also have proof that you not only sent the mail but that they also received it. This protects you and makes sure you have good documentation just in case you need it in the future. Also keep a copy of any and all letters and documentation that you send as well. 5, Analyze the results- Once the bureaus receive your letters, they are obligated to begin investigating according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The first thing they must due is to get in contact with the creditor to verify the information contained in your dispute. They will also forward all the information they receive to the creditor/information furnisher. They have thirty days to get back to you to let you know the outcome of the investigation. If you used annualcreditreport.com to launch your dispute, then they have forty five days. It is not recommended that you dispute via the internet. (You will not have any mailing proof for your records) According to the law you will also be notified via the method that you choose within five days of the outcome of their investigation. If your request as been granted, you will also receive an updated copy of your credit report showing the corrections. On the other hand if the account is verified and there is no change made, then you need to use a little known credit repair technique which allows you to dispute the account with the original creditor/information furnisher. 6, Repeat the dispute process for each account- Remember that you want to avoid your credit dispute being labeled as “frivolous”, and you can accomplish this by making sure that you give bureaus enough information to work with. (Account number and some details). You should also dispute accounts individually with the different bureaus. Following these steps to self credit repair will put you on the path to a better credit rating. If you have any questions about the process you can also give Lexington Law Firm a call. Their team of paralegals can also assist you with the process! Recent
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