How to Dispute Credit Accounts with the Credit Bureaus - The Right Way!

I have come across this question quite a bit. The fact of the matter is that, there is a right way and a wrong way to dispute you negative credit accounts with the credit bureaus.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (F.C.R.A.), you have the right to dispute the completeness and inaccuracy of information in your file. When disputing your credit accounts with the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Transunion and Equifax), you must submit a dispute request in writing. Once your letter is received, the credit bureaus have to verify that your account with the original creditor. They have 30 days to do so before taking action.

When writing your credit account dispute letter(s) always hand write the letter. Let me repeat that - always hand write the letter. The reason being is when the credit bureaus see a type letter mailed from a fancy credit repair company or attorney's office they immediately respond to your request.

Most people say - hey wait a second, responding fast is good, right? Not in this case. You technically want a slower response typically more than 30 days. If a credit bureau cannot verify your disputed credit account within a 30 day period (with the original creditor - let's say for example Visa) then legally the credit bureaus have to remove the item from you credit report. Yes, remove it from your credit report.

If the letter is hand written (letter and address on envelope) the credit bureaus see a "regular Joe" trying to fix his/her credit report themselves. This is not given top priority by the bureaus protocol and of course this works in your favor.

FYI - Understand though if the verification is completed at a later time the credit bureaus have been known for adding the disputed accounts back onto your report.

Note 1: Do not Challenge more than one item per day. It is best to wait a few days between letters. But if you are in a hurry, never send more than one challenge out in a day. Remember, the idea here is to not draw unwanted attention to yourself.

Note 2: Do not challenge multiple items in one letter. Challenge only one item per letter. If you send a letter with multiple disputes, it will most likely grab the attention of somebody at the bureaus. One item per letter, always – this is crucial!

Also keep in mind that your letter must have an explanation and proof for your claim. If you don’t tell the bureaus why it is wrong, they will ignore or deny your dispute. Make sure that you do not take responsibility for the item.

If you need more free info on credit repair/dispute letters and how they should be structured before sending, feel free to visit:

www.CreditRepair-Website.com/credit-repair-letters

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Foreclosure Has Ruined My Credit Score - How Will I Purchase a Home or Rent Now?

This question is not uncommon in these tough economic days we are navagating. In saying that overly-used yet simple statement, I have another simple statement - Rent-to-Own (aka -Lease-Option).

What is a Rent-to-Own?

A rent-to-own is a real estate transaction that is the best of both worlds - some may say. At first you rent a condo, single, townhome, etc., for a fixed period of time. The seller gives you the option to buy the property within or before that agreed period of time is up - usually 1-3 years.

When you first begin you and the seller predetermine the selling price. Usually, a portion of your rent over a specified lease period goes toward your eventual down payment. Typically, a tenant would pay slightly above-market rent over the lease period, usually from one to three years, for the right to enter into this arrangement. It's also common for the tenant to pay a fee in "option money," or for the privilege of having the option instead of first month, last month and security deposit.

Now there are stories out there that would scare you into believeing that this never works out for the buyer and in some cases that is true. The key to a successful rent-to-own transaction for the buyer is to deal direct with the homeowner selling the property. Not a real estate agent (in most cases and defintiely NOT an investor that does rent-to-owns for a living. Direct with the seller.

Your next questions is how do I deal direct with the seller and know s/he is telling the truth.

Simple!

>>1 Open your local newspaper or paper of the area your thinking about living in and call all of the For Sale By Owner ads and see if they are willing to do a rent-to-own transaction. Most people have heard of this but don't know exactly how to execute one. Usually For Sale By Owner ads that have been running for weeks are more open to this purchase option.

>>2 Open the same newspaper in your area of interest and call all of the "For Rent" ads - especially the single family homes, town homes and condos for rent. Find out if they are willing to do a rent-to-own transaction. You would be surprised how many landlords do not want to be landlords anymore - especially in this economy. This is good for you! If you call 50 "For Rent" ads you should get at least 2-5 landlords (minimum) that are willing to play ball.

To learn more about rent-to-own please click.

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Fixing Your Own Credit Report

Before trekking out into the world of hiring Credit Repair Companies, may I humbly suggest another option first. It is a well known fact (if researched), that there are a lot of non-reputable credit repair services out there. And, who wants to become another scammer statistic anyway?

Taking the self credit repair approach may prove useful because it costs virtually nothing to initiate. Maybe a couple of bucks for a downloadable credit repair ebook and some stamps for you credit bureau dispute letters.

First you must obtain a free copy of your credit report by going to http://www.annualcreditreport.com/. You will receive all three credit bureaus if you so choose (downloads instantly). Unfortunately, you will not receive your credit scores for free, only you credit history. It is only about $7-$8 to receive all three credit scores, which isn't bad at all.

Second, you want to make sure that all of your credit accounts are accurate, especially your delinquent ones! The reason for this is - if you have delinquent credit accounts that exceed the Statute of Limitations, (depending on state) you must report this to the credit bureaus. If you get those removed, that could drastically shoot up your credit score - fast.

You could easily obtain free credit repair resources or download useful info on fixing your credit score yourself. Before spending bug bucks on credit repair services, do what the FTC suggests, and fix your credit report yourself.

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How to Imporve Your FICO Score

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Top Ways to Repairng Your Bad Credit

Here are a few things you can do to help repair your credit:

1) Make payments on time and more than the minimum payment. All the minimum payment does is keep you up to date with the interest on your account. It really does nothing to lessen your debt it just prolongs it.

2) Get help from a professional service that specializes in helping people get their payments in on time. The benefits of these services are great because they can contact your creditors and get the interest reduced or removed completely. Also, this will stop the constant phone calls.

3) Stop buying stuff you can't afford. If you want to buy something, use cash. If this means you have to wait and save then that is what you will have to do.

4) Set up a budget and a way to track your spending. Many people nickel and dime themselves to death buying small things thinking it's only a few dollars. Doing that daily adds up to big money you could have saved.

5) Become a comparative shopper and don't always buy something right when you see it. Look around for better prices before you buy.

6) Stop doing your grocery shopping, a constant expense, at high-end grocery stores. Look for the discount stores and use coupons and the deals that most of them have all the time.

These are just some simple everyday ways you can save money that can go to getting your bills caught up and you out of debt. If you find that you just can't do this, get professional help from a debt solution company.

Kelly Guy knows that Doug Moore helps people get the good credit they deserve. If you'd like more information on credit repair, visit http://www.goodcredit.com.



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How to Establish Your Credit History

Your credit history is an important indicator on your credit worthiness. It will determine how easy you will be approved with a credit and the interest rate that you will be enjoying for the credit you are qualified for. Good credit history makes your life easy when you want to apply credit card or loan for any purpose. If you don't have a credit history, you need to build one, but not many places are willing to give you credit if you have zero credit history, then how to even establish it?

There are a few things you can do to get the chances of building your first credit history:

1. Start with Bank Accounts

The first thing you should do is open a checking account and possibly a savings account as well at a local bank. Then, you should maintain these 2 accounts in good standing so that you show to the bank that you can manage your money. Although your bank account status is not part of your credit history, bank may use it as their reference to determine your credit risk when you apply your first credit.

2. Consider a Department Store Card

You probably have experience of being offer with department store card that will help you to save 10% on your purchases. Generally, it is not advisable to sign up with the card because its ongoing interest rate is very high although you enjoy the up-front discount.

Avoiding these cards is typically a good idea, but if you have no credit history and have trouble to establish your first credit, then sign up with a department store card is worth considering. However, before you sign up to apply the card, make sure you ask them whether they report to credit bureaus or not. If they not, then the card won't do any good for you.

A department store card has no different than a normally credit card except it has lower credit limit, but sufficient for you to establish your credit. It carries high interest rate, so you better use it carefully when you have approved with the card. Remember your purpose of getting the card is to establish good credit, so whatever you spend, pay the balance in full when you receive the statement. When the card is activated, it will be reported to credit bureaus, and your credit history will start to build up from there.

3. When All Else Fail

What if you have tried the above 2 methods, or even try to apply a card from directly from credit card companies, but failed? Is that means you have no chance to build your credit history?

The last thing you can do is apply for a secured credit which is much easier to be obtained. What you need is an asset such as house, car or boat to link to the account which the lender can take it if you fail to make payment.

You could also apply a secured credit card which offered at most bank. You need to deposit a certain amount of money, for example $500 to secure the card with a spending limit of $500. If you fail to make payment on what you have spent with the card, the bank will take your deposit.

Be aware that not all secured credit will be reported to credit bureaus; make sure you check to ensure it will be reported before you apply it.

Summary

It is important for you to have a good credit history, you have to build one if you don't have. Establishing the first credit may be tricky but above 3 methods may help you to initial it. After obtaining your first credit, it is important to use it responsibly to maintain good credit history.

Cornie Herring invites you to be debt free in 12 to 39 months or visit her website at http://www.studykiosk.com/CreditBasics to explore more information on debt relief options.



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Winning in the "Credit Repair Battle"

Start Your Credit Repair Right

Don't make the mistake of rushing headlong into the credit repair battle without doing your homework, as you are certain to meet with disappointment. Invest a few hours in the planning stage of the battle and you can insure your success. You credit repair project is too important to make any fundamental errors, most of which can be easily avoided. Let's look at the key issues that will determine the outcome.

Make a Commitment

Credit repair success requires a commitment to timely payments from this point forward. It's time to take an honest look at your personal finances. Dissect your budget. Examine every expense, from basic overhead to the discretionary items you purchase each month. Bite the bullet, put it all in writing, and exclude nothing. If you discover that you are spending more money each month than you have coming in you will need to make some changes. Credit repair can totally change your life, boost your confidence, and even lay the foundation for long term wealth, but you need to be honest with yourself, starting now.

Accentuate the Positive

Start with a focus on the positive. Credit repair success demands the presence of open, well managed accounts. We will get to the more exciting subject of removing derogatory information from your reports in a minute, but in the final analysis it is the positive accounts that will define your credit repair results. You must have at least two open mainstream credit cards. If you do not have any open accounts, now is the time to open them. If you are concerned with your ability to get approved, get secured credit cards. They are the perfect credit repair tool.

The Power of Credit Cards

Credit card management for credit repair success is not hard, but there are two important issues that can make or break the outcome. First, credit cards are not created equal. Store cards and consumer credit, such as furniture and electronics store credit lines, are dangerous for your credit; the FICO scoring model is biased against these forms of credit. Mainstream cards such as MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover are the only way to go. Second, your account balance relative to your credit limit can swing your score one way or the other by as much as 150 points. Max out your credit cards and your scores will plunge. So watch those balances.

Adjust Your Attitude

Once you have gotten a handle on your personal finances and understand the importance of building and maintaining positive credit it's time to move the troops into position. Let the battle begin. It's you against the credit reporting errors that have accumulated on your credit report over the years. If you truly want to win the credit repair battle you need to make an attitude adjustment; give yourself the benefit of the doubt. Don't believe the information on your credit report just because it is in writing. There are dozens of types of errors that are generated from legitimate issues. This means that an item is not necessarily accurate just because it looks familiar.

Challenge Collections

The most common and damaging credit reporting error is the illicit collection. You may be aware that collections are bought and sold on a regular basis. You may, however, not know that when a collector sells an account to another collector or returns it to the original creditor they are supposed to withdraw their reporting altogether. Unfortunately, there is no penalty for failure to comply, and so many illicitly reported collections linger for years. Examine all collections very carefully. If there is any question that the collector still owns the debt you should challenge it.

Continue the Cleanup

When it comes to other derogatory information on your report, such as late payments, you should continue to give yourself the benefit of the doubt. Late payment reporting errors are extremely common and yet often go unchallenged because consumers recall paying a late fee. This is not an indication of the accuracy of the reporting. Late fees are typically charged when a creditor receives your payment 15 days after the due date. Late payments on your credit report, on the other hand, are not supposed to be reported until you are a full 30 days late.

Reach Out for Credit Repair

When it comes to credit repair, every detail matters. As you get your credit repair project underway it is important to know that there is help available if you need it. Just reach out and ask. Most professional credit repair services offer a free consultation; take advantage. Make the most of your call by writing down your list of questions in advance. Get comfortable, take your time, and do it right. Credit repair success will be yours. Good luck!

Copyright © 2009 Ian Webber. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

Ian Webber is an expert in consumer law and credit repair. Ian is a graduate of the London School of Economics and The University of Chicago where he earned his LLM. Ian consults with one of the leading online credit repair services and is currently based in Florida.



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