| WHAT IS CREDIT REPAIR? Your mortgage expert will be working with you on a month-to-month basis – Targeting your most damaging items first – Then tracking which items have been removed from the various credit reports – And making sure you continue to dispute them until your credit score reaches your target level. ( 720 for example... ) You always have the option of reducing your rate and/or changing programs with zero costs or fees – But most clients wait until they have hit their credit score target. First of all, “credit repair” companies are a scam. Other clients have spent up to $2,400 - Only to find out they can accomplish the same objectives - By following this step-by-step program. For Free... This information is provided to help clear up “questionable” items on your credit reports. Everything you need to know is enclosed. Please read the entire program carefully before you begin. If you follow the instructions - You should be able to restore your credit rating completely. The time frame for this to occur varies with the amount of work to be done. THE CREDIT REPORTING BUSINESS… The credit reporting agencies (CRA’s) exist for the mutual benefit of you and your lenders. They collect credit information on all individuals - And then sell this information to their clients - Who are other lenders and creditors. The information in these reports helps the lenders determine your credit risk and likelihood of repayment. IMPORTANT: CRA’s do not rate your credit worthiness. That is up to the individual companies supplying your credit information to the CRA’s. The complete scope of all this information determines your “credit score”. INACCURATE CREDIT REPORTS… According to a government issued study released in May of 2007 – 29% of credit reports surveyed contained serious errors that could result in the denial of credit – 71% contained errors or mistakes of some kind – 41% contained incorrect personal information – 23% were missing credit cards, loans, mortgages, or other accounts that may be crucial to obtaining a correct credit rating. Until changes in the credit reporting laws took place - It was very difficult to get a copy of your credit report - Let alone correct items. THE CREDIT REPORTING ACT OF 1997… The new standards established in 1997 - Allows much easier access to the information about your credit report. The law was amended to put the burden of proof on the CRA’s to establish that the credit reports they were furnishing were correct. A quote from the actual law... "Specifically, if the completeness or accuracy of any item in a consumer's file at a credit reporting agency is disputed, the agency shall re-investigate free of charge and record the current status of the disputed information, or delete the item, before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the agency receives the notice of dispute. Further, the CRA shall promptly provide notification of any dispute to anyone who provided any item of information in dispute. If an item is found to be inaccurate or incomplete or cannot be verified, the credit reporting agency shall promptly delete the item, or modify the item, as appropriate, and notify the consumer no later than 5 business days after the completion of the re-investigation. The credit reporting agency must also provide the consumer with notice that a description of the procedure used to determine the accuracy, including the business name, address and telephone number of any furnisher of information, must be made available to the consumer upon request. This description of the re-investigation procedure must be provided within 15 days of the request." REPAIRING YOUR CREDIT STEPS TO FOLLOW… 1) Obtain Your Credit Reports 2) Review/Grade Your Credit Reports 3) Request Correction 4) Await Response 5) ... Repeat Until Satisfied. That's all there is to it. Seems easy enough, but you must have patience, because the credit bureaus are not always very cooperative. They make their money by providing credit reports to lenders, not by fixing bad information in their databases. As you proceed through these steps, keep copies and records of all correspondence you send and receive, including the envelopes! It is very important that you keep copies of everything when communicating with a creditor, debt collector, or credit reporting agency. Should they violate the law, you will have the necessary documentation to prove it, and perhaps make them pay. If you should encounter any special difficulty and need more help, you will also need these records to proceed. Finally, if information that was removed from your credit report should reappear later, you will have the documentation to force the credit agency to permanently delete this entry. Because of pressure from Congress, all three major credit reporting agencies have adopted policies, which grant individuals the opportunity of obtaining free credit reports under certain circumstances, such as denial of credit within the last 30 days, due to information contained in a consumer credit report. As you receive an updated copy in response to your dispute, this is yet another way to obtain your credit report. Dispute a specific erroneous item with each of the three credit bureaus, and after their investigation is complete, you will receive updated credit reports. To be effective, you must have specific knowledge of an erroneous item on your credit report, and it will take two months before you are likely to see the corrected update. OBTAIN YOUR CREDIT REPORT… Either online from the individual websites, or follow the formats available from the 800 numbers below. Online disputes, (investigation requests), are proving to be much faster. The catch is you need to purchase your individual credit reports from each CRA. (For the online process, each CRA requires the “ID” number supplied with the credit report.) To purchase your credit reports online, you will need a credit card AND the credit card billing address MUST MATCH your mailing address. The charge for your credit report varies between $8 to $10 per report. 1. Equifax Credit Information Services +1.800.448.2321 +1.800.882.0648 +1.800.290.8749 (Fraud Department) +1.770.612.2603 (Fax) www.Equifax.com 2. Trans Union Corporation +1.800.888.4213 +1.800.916.8800 option 2 +1.800.680.7289 (Fraud Department) www.TUC.com 3. Experian (formerly TRW) Consumer Relations +1.888.397.3742 (+1.888.EXPERIAN) +1.800.583.4080 (Fraud Department) www.Experian.com INFORMATION REQUIRED TO OBTAIN YOUR REPORT BY MAIL… · Full name · Birth-date · Social Security number · Current address · Former addresses in last 5 years · Photocopy of driving license If you fail to include any of these, you will receive a letter back from the credit reporting agency requesting that it be included. The credit bureau may request additional information anyway, and you should provide it as quickly as possible. Within 10 to 30 days you should receive a copy of your credit report from each of the agencies. REVIEW YOUR CREDIT REPORTS… Now that you have the credit reports in hand, review them very carefully. Each agency follows their own unique format, but they provide the information, which will help you decode your credit report. For each credit report, carefully note any records, which you believe to be inaccurate, incorrect, erroneous, misleading or outdated. It does not matter whether the information is negative, neutral, or even positive, if it is in anyway erroneous it should be removed. RANK YOUR CREDIT ITEMS… Once you have noted each questionable item, you should rank them. Rank the most damaging information first, followed by the next most damaging, etc., until those items which are neutral. Do this for each credit report, as they may not all have the same questionable information on them. List of the significance of derogatory information: 1. Bankruptcy 2. Foreclosure 3. Consumer credit counseling 4. Loan default 5. Repossession 6. Court judgments 7. Collections 8. Past due payments 9. Late payments 10. Credit rejections 11. Credit inquiries You will find that some of the questionable information is duplicated on one or both the other credit reports, but not all will be. In any case, you should send a dispute to each of the three major credit reporting agencies, for each questionable item, whether it appears on their report or not. This is to assure that the same questionable item will not be removed from one report only to reappear later on another. REQUESTING CORRECTIONS ONLINE It is very important that you print your disputes BEFORE you submit them. If you return later to re-dispute an account history – Your reason for requesting the original investigation MUST MATCH EXACTLY to the prior reason given. A major difference seen currently from the “By Mail” proccess, is that you can request multiple investigations without raising concerns as to validity. How long this “dual” policy will remain is uncertain. They may attempt to bully you into believing that your request is frivolous, or even unlawful. But the credit reporting agencies are required to assume that all disputes are bona fide, unless there is clear and convincing evidence that it is not. DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH EXPLANATIONS – ONLY DISPUTES GET RESULTS... Once the credit reporting agency has received your dispute, they are obligated to investigate. This obligation is not contingent upon you having been denied credit. Within 10 to 30 days you will receive a letter from each CRA, telling you that they are investigating your dispute. Within another 10 to 30 days, you should receive an updated credit report, indicating that the disputed item has been removed. As soon as a credit reporting agency provides you with an updated credit report showing that the item has been deleted, you should submit another dispute, in regards to the remaining, next most damaging, item. Repeat this process, until each and every questionable item has been deleted. In some cases, the credit reporting agencies are slow to respond to your dispute. If this should occur, you may choose to write a letter, strongly reminding the credit bureau of their obligations under the law. You may follow the format in Sample Letter 3, and be sure to again send it registered, without return-receipt or insurance. Again, carefully follow the mailing and record keeping instructions. Should the credit reporting agencies just flat out ignore even that letter, you may follow the format in Sample Letter 4, but tailor it specifically to the circumstances in which you now find yourself. Be prepared to contact the FTC to file your formal complaint, should even this letter not elicit a response. At this point, you should seriously consider contacting an attorney, as willful failure to comply may subject the credit reporting agencies to liability. It is recommended that you send both a fax or certified mail copy, as well as standard 1st class mail with proof of mailing ["certificate of mailing"]. This is because they may not accept your certified mail, or deny receipt of the fax, but this way, you have gone the extra mile, and can prove it if necessary. CORRECT ONLINE DISPUTE PROCEDURE… Here is the procedure to follow when filing a dispute online with the CRA’s: 1. Log in to the CRA website, and purchase your current credit report. You will receive an email confirmation of your credit report request, along with either the report itself – or instructions on how to retrieve it. This file will include your user name, password, and “ID” number. 2. Re-enter the CRA website, and open the Dispute or Investigation link. 3. Carefully match the negative items with the correct account numbers, and request the dispute or investigation. 4. Be sure to check the reason for the request. 5. MAKE SURE YOU PRINT the entire list of disputed accounts BEFORE you submit the investigation. 6. Print your final copies of ALL correspondence received via email. (More than one client has “lost” everything due to a computer malfunction.) You should staple all this together, and file it all away in a safe place for at least seven years. Remember that nothing is foolproof, and you should be prepared to deal with the situations as they come up. Be persistent - And you will be successful.... REQUESTING CORRECTIONS BY MAIL It is very important that each questionable item is dealt with individually. If you attempt to have the credit reporting agency correct several items, or even all items at once, it will be easier for the agency to claim your request is frivolous or irrelevant. They may attempt to bully you into believing that your request is frivolous, or even unlawful. But the credit reporting agencies are required to assume that all disputes are bona fide, unless there is clear and convincing evidence that it is not. A blanket dispute (i.e. all information is challenged) may be considered evidence that the dispute is frivolous, if you fail to provide any allegations concerning specific items in your file. You should challenge each item individually, and not give in to them if they send ominous letters warning of dire consequences if your claims are frivolous. You will now HANDWRITE a letter to each credit reporting agency - Requesting an investigation to verify the status of the most damaging item reported by any of the agencies, and asking that they correct the information. Also, keep in mind that without a clear statement that the accuracy or completeness of specific information is "disputed" or "challenged" - Your letter might not be construed as an exercise of rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Specific words to use include: erroneous, outdated, misleading, or unverifiable. Mere explanation of the reason a debt was not paid might not constitute a dispute and does not require the credit reporting agency to re-investigate or accept your written dispute statements. DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH EXPLANATIONS – ONLY DISPUTES GET RESULTS... Once the credit reporting agency has received your dispute letter, they are obligated to investigate. This obligation is not contingent upon you having been denied credit. Follow the format in Sample Letter 1, and send it in. If you are dealing with excessive, unauthorized credit inquiries, follow the format in Sample Letter 2. Follow the important mailing and record keeping instructions. Within 10 to 30 days you will receive a letter from each CRA, telling you that they are investigating your dispute. Within another 10 to 30 days, you should receive an updated credit report, indicating that the disputed item has been removed. As soon as a credit reporting agency provides you with an updated credit report showing that the item has been deleted - You should send another dispute letter, in regards to the next most damaging item. Repeat this process, until each and every questionable item has been deleted. In some cases, the credit reporting agencies are slow to respond to your dispute. If this should occur, you may choose to write another letter, strongly reminding the credit bureau of their obligations under the law. You may follow the format in Sample Letter 3, and be sure to again send it registered, without return-receipt or insurance. Again, carefully follow the mailing and record keeping instructions. Should the credit reporting agencies just flat out ignore even that letter, you may follow the format in Sample Letter 4, but tailor it specifically to the circumstances in which you now find yourself. Be prepared to contact the FTC to file your formal complaint, should even this letter not elicit a response. At this point, you should seriously consider contacting an attorney, as willful failure to comply may subject the credit reporting agencies to liability. It is recommended that you send both a fax or certified mail copy, as well as standard 1st class mail with proof of mailing ["certificate of mailing"]. This is because they may not accept your certified mail, or deny receipt of the fax, but this way, you have gone the extra mile, and can prove it if necessary. CORRECT "By-Mail" DISPUTE PROCEDURE… Here is the procedure to follow when corresponding with the credit reporting agencies: 7. HANDWRITE your letter, then sign it 8. Use a fax machine that will print a confirmation page - And fax your letter and all attachments. 9. Make 2 copies of your signed letter, 2 copies of the confirmation page, and 2 copies of any attachments. 10. Staple the original attachments to a copy of your letter, and file away. 11. Prepare 2 envelopes, properly addressed and with correct return address. 12. Staple the attachment copies to your original letter, and enclose in envelope #1. 13. Staple the attachment copies to your letter copy, and enclose in envelope #2. 14. DO NOT put stamps on the envelopes. 15. Go to the post office send letter #1 by certified mail with return-receipt requested request and save for your file: A) Dated/stamped cash receipt B) Dated/stamped certified mail receipt C) The return-receipt which will arrive in the mail 16. Send letter #2 by 1st class mail with a "certificate of mailing" (proof that it was mailed) request and save for your file: A) Dated/stamped cash receipt B) Dated/stamped "certificate of mailing" 17. For each letter set you send, you will have as proof: A) Copy of their collection letter, with its envelope [if any] B) A copy of your signed letter C) Your attachments [if any] D) Fax confirmation sheet as proof of faxing [if you used fax] E) Dated/stamped cash receipts from post office F) Certified mail receipt G) Certificate of mailing for your 1st class letter H) Return-receipt, after it arrives in the mail You should staple all this together, and file it all away in a safe place for at least seven years... Remember that nothing is foolproof, and you should be prepared to deal with the situations as they come up. Be persistent - And you will be successful. This kit does not contain any legal advice. You are responsible for yourself and your own actions. We make no warranties; either expressed or implied, of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, or applicability this program may have with you. |
Your Free CRP / Credit Repair Program
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