Credit Report Repair is a huge business currently. There
are credit repair companies opening up all over the U.S.
With all of the credit issues our country faces as a result
of foreclosures, high credit card debt, loss of jobs and an
economy going into a recession, credit repairs companies
are having a field day. According the FTC most credit
repair companies prey on the desperate in hopes of a
miracle. The FTC claims that self help is best.
Check your Credit Report
Don't worry checking your free credit score report does not
affect your credit score. The first step after you have had
some issues in the past is to pull a copy of your credit
report with all 3 credit scores. This type of report will
show you what is on there. That way you can start the
negotiating process. Contrary to popular belief, you cannot
get collections; charge offs, judgments, foreclosures, or
slow pays removed from your report. Alls of these types of
derogatory matters stay on your report between 7 to 10 yrs.
How to negotiate
Once you have pulled a copy of your credit report with
scores, now you can determine which collections to pay off.
Always start with the small collections. If you have a
collection that says you owe $450.00 to OSI, which is a
medical collection company, offer them $150.00. Make sure
if you offer them a amount you can afford you follow
through with the agreement. After you have come to an
agreement, ask for a letter to delete from the Bureaus. If
you are able to get a letter to delete from the bureaus,
then you can send this letter to all 3 credit bureaus to
delete the collection. This is top priority. If you cannot
get the collection company to give you a letter to delete,
then make sure you get the letter they provide. Sometimes
these collection companies will not update the bureaus like
they are required by law. Typically what they will provide
depending on the agreed upon negotiations, is a letter that
says either paid in full or settled.
Check for inaccurate information
Along with paying off debt you owe, you also need to check
for information that is not correct. Like collections or
obligations that are not yours. This is very common on
credit reports. If there is information on your credit
report that is incorrect, disputes it on line. Here is a
good place to do this. www.creditscorequick.com/sitemap.
Some professionals recommend disputing via certified mail,
but we have got the same results via on-line dispute, plus
it's faster. Now if you need to send in a letter to the
credit bureaus, then you have to send the letter along with
the dispute via certified mail. The disputing process
depends on the situation of the collections. For example:
if you filed a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, and it's been on your
credit report for more than 10 yrs, you can dispute this on
line. This is because Chapter 7 Bankruptcies are only
suppose to be on your report for 10 years from original
file date. You don't need letter to dispute this because
the credit bureau can call and verify original file date.
Revisit your Credit Report
Once you have knocked out a bunch of collections and charge
offs re-pull your report. Don't pull it until at least 90
days after you have paid a bunch of collections. The reason
for doing this is you want to make sure these companies are
updating the credit bureaus. If is very common for
collections companies not update information like they are
required to do. You also want to give the collection
companies time to update as well. Usually they will take 30
to 60 days to send in the necessary information to update
your credit report. Give it some time, and with a little
hard work you will be able to revive your bad credit.
Re-establish credit
While you are taking care of old debts, you need to be
establishing new ones. Yes, you heard me correct, in order
for your credit scores to increase you need some good
credit reporting as well. The quickest way to get this
going is to get a secured credit card. Orchard Bank has one
of the best credit cards, which will allow you to establish
credit, even after a bankruptcy. The reason this is so
important is because you began the process of good credit
reporting to all 3 credit bureaus. It will not hurt to get
a couple of secured credit cards. Once you have some good
payment history on these cards you will get offers from
other credit card companies. The one thing you want to
remember is don't make the same mistake twice. Use your
credit cards with care, and make sure you are never late on
them. If you are late then you defeat this entire process.
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About the Author: Mike Clover is the owner of
http://www.creditscorequick.com/ . CreditScoreQuick.com is
the one of the most unique on-line resources for free
credit score report, fico score, Internet identity theft
software, secure credit cards, and a BlOG with a wealth of
personal credit information. The information within this
website is written by professionals that know about credit,
and what determines ones credit worthiness.
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