 Fix Your Credit On Your
Own
The truth is that you CAN work to fix your Credit on
your Own.
We will even tell you how to do it. While you can work
on your own credit, just like you can really do just about anything
in your life on your own, there are benefits to working with a
company who has a proven track record and ability to work quickly to
get the results you demand.
We do not ask for money for our services until we get
the Job Done and you SEE the results. That is our Guarantee.
In most cases we are working with clients who are
involved on a mortgage refinance so we are able to get paid through
the close of escrow so there is no real Out-OF-Pocket expense to
you.
In any even, we have put together the following
information for you to review on repairing your own credit. There is
even an example of a letter you can use to dispute with the bureaus.
Keep in mind that the process described here assumes that you will
want to dispute inaccurate information with the bureaus and in the
event they verify that the information is correct, then the item
will continue to be reported.
Our methods DO NOT dispute with the bureaus. We go
straight to the source, your Creditors. We work with Your Creditors
to have them update the information that they report to the
bureaus. See, if the Creditor is verifying bad information to the
bureaus, then that same bad information is verified as correct and
your request for deletion of these inaccurate items goes denied.
In most cases, people who decide to make an attempt to
work on their own credit, will see that there are challenges larger
than they originally considered and return to us to do the work for
them.
Please enjoy the following information...
Credit Repair: Self Help May Be Best
You see the advertisements in newspapers, on TV, and on the
Internet. You hear them on the radio. You get fliers in the mail.
You may even get calls from telemarketers offering credit repair
services. They all make the same claims:
- “Credit problems? No problem!”
- “We can erase your bad credit — 100% guaranteed.”
- “Create a new credit identity — legally.”
- “We can remove bankruptcies, judgments, liens, and bad loans
from your credit file forever!”
Most of these companies are running a SCAM and many of
them don't get anything done for you even after they take your
money. You have to be careful and make sure that your are working
with an honest business. Watch out for those companies that want to
be paid for their services up front before they do anything for you.
Up Front and Honorable businesses may ask for a consulting fee for
the initial consultation, but no money is paid for their services
until the completion of their work is proven by showing results.
The Scam
Everyday, companies nationwide appeal to consumers with poor
credit histories. They promise, for a fee, to clean up your credit
report so you can get a car loan, a home mortgage, insurance, or
even a job. The truth is, they can’t deliver. After you pay them
hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees, these companies do nothing
to improve your credit report; most simply vanish with your
money.
The Warning Signs
If you decide to respond to a credit repair offer, look for these
tell-tale signs of a scam:
- companies that want you to pay for credit repair services
before they provide any services.
- companies that do not tell you your legal rights and what you
can do for yourself for free.
- companies that recommend that you not contact a credit
reporting company directly.
- companies that suggest that you try to invent a “new” credit
identity — and then, a new credit report — by applying for an
Employer Identification Number to use instead of your Social
Security number.
- companies that advise you to dispute all information in your
credit report or take any action that seems illegal, like creating
a new credit identity. If you follow illegal advice and commit
fraud, you may be subject to prosecution.
You could be charged and prosecuted for mail or wire fraud if you
use the mail or telephone to apply for credit and provide false
information. It’s a federal crime to lie on a loan or credit
application, to misrepresent your Social Security number, and to
obtain an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue
Service under false pretenses.
Under the Credit Repair
Organizations Act, credit repair companies cannot require you to pay
until they have completed the services they have promised.
The Truth
No one can legally remove accurate and timely negative
information from a credit report. The law allows you to ask for an
investigation of information in your file that you dispute as
inaccurate or incomplete. There is no charge for this. Everything a
credit repair clinic can do for you legally, you can do for yourself
at little or no cost. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act
(FCRA):
- You’re entitled to a free report if a company takes adverse
action against you, like denying your application for credit,
insurance, or employment, and you ask for your report within 60
days of receiving notice of the action. The notice will give you
the name, address, and phone number of the consumer reporting
company. You’re also entitled to one free report a year if you’re
unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days; if you’re on
welfare; or if your report is inaccurate because of fraud,
including identity theft.
- Each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax,
Experian, and TransUnion — is required to provide you with a free
copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12
months.
The three companies have set up a central website, a
toll-free telephone number, and a mailing address through which
you can order your free annual report. To order, click on
annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228, or complete the
Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit
Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies
individually. They are providing free annual credit reports only
through annualcreditreport.com, 1-877-322-8228, and Annual Credit
Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide
consumer reporting companies at the same time, or you can order
your report from each of the companies one at a time. For more
information, see Your Access to Free Credit Reports at http://www.annualcreditreport.com/
Otherwise,
a consumer reporting company may charge you up to $9.50 for
another copy of your report within a 12-month period.
- You can dispute mistakes or outdated items for free. Under the
FCRA, both the consumer reporting company and the information
provider (that is, the person, company, or organization that
provides information about you to a consumer reporting company)
are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete
information in your report. To take advantage of all your rights
under this law, contact the consumer reporting company and the
information provider.
STEP ONE
Tell the consumer reporting company, in writing, what information
you think is inaccurate. Include copies (NOT originals) of documents
that support your position. In addition to providing your complete
name and address, your letter should clearly identify each item in
your report you dispute, state the facts and explain why you dispute
the information, and request that it be removed or corrected. You
may want to enclose a copy of your report with the items in question
circled. Your letter may look something like the one on page 6. Send
your letter by certified mail, “return receipt requested,” so you
can document what the consumer reporting company received. Keep
copies of your dispute letter and enclosures.
Consumer reporting companies must investigate the items in
question — usually within 30 days — unless they consider your
dispute frivolous. They also must forward all the relevant data you
provide about the inaccuracy to the organization that provided the
information. After the information provider receives notice of a
dispute from the consumer reporting company, it must investigate,
review the relevant information, and report the results back to the
consumer reporting company. If the information provider finds the
disputed information is inaccurate, it must notify all three
nationwide consumer reporting companies so they can correct the
information in your file.
When the investigation is complete, the consumer reporting
company must give you the results in writing and a free copy of your
report if the dispute results in a change. If an item is changed or
deleted, the consumer reporting company cannot put the disputed
information back in your file unless the information provider
verifies that it is accurate and complete. The consumer
reporting company also must send you written notice that includes the
name, address, and phone number of the information provider. If you
request, the consumer reporting company must send notices of any
correction to anyone who received your report in the past six
months. You can have a corrected copy of your report sent to anyone
who received a copy during the past two years for employment
purposes.
If an investigation doesn’t resolve your dispute with the
consumer reporting company, you can ask that a statement of the
dispute be included in your file and in future reports. You also can
ask the consumer reporting company to provide your statement to
anyone who received a copy of your report in the recent past. You
can expect to pay a fee for this service.
STEP TWO
Tell the creditor or other information provider, in writing, that
you dispute an item. Be sure to include copies (NOT originals) of
documents that support your position. Many providers specify an
address for disputes. If the provider reports the item to a consumer
reporting company, it must include a notice of your dispute. And if
you are correct – that is, if the information is found to be
inaccurate – the information provider may not report it again.
Reporting Accurate Negative Information
When negative information in your report is accurate, only the
passage of time can assure its removal. A consumer reporting company
can report most accurate negative information for seven years and
bankruptcy information for 10 years. Information about an unpaid
judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the
statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer. There is no
time limit on reporting: information about criminal convictions;
information reported in response to your application for a job that
pays more than $75,000 a year; and information reported because
you’ve applied for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life
insurance. There is a standard method for calculating the seven-year
reporting period. Generally, the period runs from the date that the
event took place.
The Credit Repair Organizations Act
By law, credit repair organizations must give you a copy of the
“Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law” before you
sign a contract. They also must give you a written contract that
spells out your rights and obligations. Read these documents before
you sign anything. The law contains specific protections for you.
For example, a credit repair company cannot:
- make false claims about their services
- charge you until they have completed the promised services
- perform any services until they have your signature on a
written contract and have completed a three-day waiting period.
During this time, you can cancel the contract without paying any
fees
Your contract must specify:
- the payment terms for services, including their total cost
- a detailed description of the services to be performed
- how long it will take to achieve the results
- any guarantees they offer
- the company’s name and business address
Have You Been Victimized?
Many states have laws regulating credit repair companies. State
law enforcement officials may be helpful if you’ve lost money to
credit repair scams.
If you’ve had a problem with a credit repair company, don’t be
embarrassed to report it. While you may fear that contacting the
government will only make your problems worse, remember that laws
are in place to protect you. Contact your local consumer affairs
office or your state Attorney General (AGs). Many AGs have toll-free
consumer hotlines. Check the Blue Pages of your telephone directory
for the phone number or check http://www.naag.org/ for a list
of state Attorneys General.
Need Help? Don’t Despair
Just because you have a poor credit report doesn’t mean you won’t
be able to get credit. Creditors set their own credit-granting
standards and not all of them look at your credit history the same
way. Some may look only at more recent years to evaluate you for
credit, and they may grant credit if your bill-paying history has
improved. It may be worthwhile to contact creditors informally to
discuss their credit standards.
If you’re not disciplined enough to create a workable budget and
stick to it, work out a repayment plan with your creditors, or keep
track of mounting bills, consider contacting a credit counseling
organization. Many credit counseling organizations are nonprofit and
work with you to solve your financial problems. But not all are
reputable. For example, just because an organization says it’s
“nonprofit,” there’s no guarantee that its services are free,
affordable, or even legitimate. In fact, some credit counseling
organizations charge high fees, or hide their fees by pressuring
consumers to make “voluntary” contributions that only cause more
debt.
Most credit counselors offer services through local offices, the
Internet, or on the telephone. If possible, find an organization
that offers in-person counseling. Many universities, military bases,
credit unions, housing authorities, and branches of the U.S.
Cooperative Extension Service operate nonprofit credit counseling
programs. Your financial institution, local consumer protection
agency, and friends and family also may be good sources of
information and referrals.
If you are considering filing for bankruptcy, you should know
about one major change to the bankruptcy laws: As of October 17,
2005, you must get credit counseling from a government-approved
organization within six months before you file for bankruptcy
relief. That is the website of the U.S. Trustee Program, the
organization within the U.S. Department of Justice that supervises
bankruptcy cases and trustees.
Reputable credit counseling organizations can advise you on
managing your money and debts, help you develop a budget, and offer
free educational materials and workshops. Their counselors are
certified and trained in the areas of consumer credit, money and
debt management, and budgeting. Counselors discuss your entire
financial situation with you, and help you develop a personalized
plan to solve your money problems. An initial counseling session
typically lasts an hour, with an offer of follow-up sessions.
For
more information, see Knee Deep in Debt and Fiscal Fitness:
Do-It-Yourself Check-Up
Even if you don’t have a poor credit history, some financial
advisors and consumer advocates suggest you review your credit
report periodically
- because the information it contains affects whether you can
get a loan or insurance — and how much you will have to pay for
it.
- to make sure the information is accurate, complete, and
up-to-date before you apply for a loan for a major purchase like a
house or car, buy insurance, or apply for a job.
- to help guard against identity theft. That’s when someone uses
your personal information — like your name, your Social Security
number, or your credit card number — to commit fraud. Identity
thieves may use your information to open a new credit card account
in your name. Then, when they don’t pay the bills, the delinquent
account is reported on your credit report. Inaccurate information
like that could affect your ability to get credit, insurance, or
even a job.
Sample Dispute Letter
Date
Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip
Code
Complaint Department
Name of Company
Address
City,
State, Zip Code
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing to dispute the following information in my file. The
items I dispute also are encircled on the attached copy of the
report I received.
This item (identify item(s) disputed by name of source, such as
creditors or tax court, and identify type of item, such as credit
account, judgment, etc.) is (inaccurate or incomplete) because
(describe what is inaccurate or incomplete and why). I am requesting
that the item be deleted (or request another specific change) to
correct the information.
Enclosed are copies of (use this sentence if applicable and
describe any enclosed documentation, such as payment records, court
documents) supporting my position. Please investigate this (these)
matter(s) and (delete or correct) the disputed item(s) as soon as
possible.
Sincerely,
Your name
Enclosures: (List what you are enclosing)
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