Credit Repair- the next step

You've reviewed your report information, so let's study our enemy a bit. The bureaus are a storehouse of consumer credit info. They sell the stored data to creditors,
marketing companies and others.

The information in your file was provided to them by your
original creditors, courts, collection agencies, insurers and
other organizations.

The big mistake in the system is that the reporting agencies do
not have to verify the truth or validity of the information
reported to them. As a result, independent research has found
mistakes as high as 40% among the major reporting
agencies.

Ultimately that had to change and The Fair Credit Reporting Act
(FCRA) was passed to take care of some of the problems of the
industry.

What we are talking about today is your right to dispute any item on your
reports and to receive a timely response. The FCRA
holds the agency responsible to verify the disputed item with whomever reported the item to
the agency.
It helps to know what items are
hurting us most and how to dispute those items most effectively.

Often the easiest items to have changed are old items that were
paid late. Next you may wish to dispute derogatory items that
you don't recall ever signing for or otherwise authorizing.

Many service companies will dispute every negative item on your
report. While this can be done, it is more effective to pick and
choose a few high value targets and dispute those. You can always
find a way to challange the rest of the stuff later. Meanwhile, some
of the easier disputes will begin to raise your scoring.

Even though you might be tempted to dispute an incorrect current
address or employer, save that for later. There are a couple
reasons for this, 1) correcting this will not increase your score,
and 2) this blatantly incorrect information may be useful later.

I suggest using the US postal service to submit your disputes.
Either hand write or type a convincing and personalized dispute
letter to the agency that you wish to dispute an item or two with.
Include the item information; creditor name, account number, etc.
and include a copy of the agency's credit report with the items high-
lighted. Provide your SS# and Date of Birth.

Mail this using return receipt confirmation so that you'll know it was
recieved by the agency. Repeat this process with the other two
reporting agencies and keep copies of everything you have sent.
(All of this can be simplified with the use of my Step-By-Step Guide)

Mailing Addresses:

Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
800-685-1111

Transunion
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
800-916-8800

Experian
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
888-397-3742


Mail in dispute letters rather
than disputing via telephone or online.