Fix Your Credit Reports Yourself
A Credit Article Contributed by Mark Mcclelland
Why Would I Want to Fix My Credit Reports Myself
Well, why wouldn't you want to fix your credit reports yourself. Yes, you could pay a fee to have one of those on-line "get the results you want", "on-line credit repair guaranteed" companies, but you'd still have to do quite a bit of the work yourself. In addition, don't you want to find out how the three credit reporting agencies really work, and why they have so much power over our financial lives? Sure you do.
What Do I Do to Fix My Credit Reports Myself
There are several steps you have to take to get your credit reports fixed, and not all of them are physical. It helps if you understand beforehand that the action of last recourse might require a lawsuit. probably not, but it might; especially if the error is an especially egregious one that is likely to cause potential creditors to deny you future credit. So being in the right frame of mind is important.
So is writing down everything you do when disputing data in your credit reports, including documenting phone conversations, with time, date, content, and any end-results/agreement/disagreements reached. Always be businesslike... you never want to have to explain why you were yelling into the phone at some poor clerk on the other end.
First you need to get separate copies of your credit reports from each of the three credit reporting agencies. You can do this on line or via the post. You''ll also need copies of their codes and scoring factors to decipher the data contained in your credit reports.
Experian: P.O. Box 2104, Allen, TX 75013-0949, (888)397-3742, www.experian.com
Equifax: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241, (800)685-1111, www.equifax.com
Trans Union Corp.: 760 W. Sproul Rd., Springfield, PA 19064-0390, (800)888-4213, www.transunion.com
Second, sort through any errors found, ranking them in terms of severity. Erroneous personally identifiable information should come first, followed by any erroneous bankruptcy and foreclosure data,loan defaults, repossessions, or court judgments, followed by any erroneous collection attempts, past due payments, or late payments, and finally by any erroneous credit rejections or credit enquiries.
Identify those you want to dispute. Make sure that the data is incorrect; the fact that your feelings were hurt is not cause enough to dispute the facts. The credit reporting agencies take a really dim view of a request to fix a supposed credit report error that is really more opinion or ego than fact.
And next, repeat the following two steps until all errors have been eliminated from your credit reports.
1) For each disputed item, one item at a time: write a letter, one to each of the three agencies, whether or not the disputed item appears in their specific report. Be firm but not abusive, and be sure you indicate that you are disputing the accuracy of the data - you might want to use that phrase. Simply saying you found an error might not constitute a dispute nor induce the credit reporting agencies to take action.
2) Track this disputed item until it's properly resolved. Several letters may be required to prod the agency into action so stick to your guns.
You can get a whole pot load of information, including sample letters from the FTC web site at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/crdtdis.htm.
Is There a Downside to Fixing My own Credit Reports
There's not really a downside to fixing your credit reports yourself. It will take a lot of time, and it might be painful, but in the end you'ff be glad you did, and your financial future will thank you for having done it.
