Credit Repair
Credit report repair can save you literally tens of
thousands of dollars over time. And that may be a
conservative statement.
Let's face it. Sometimes bad things happen to good
people. So let's say you get your credit report and it
looks 'less than lovely'. Does this mean you have to
give up?
Absolutely not!
Credit report repair works, but you have to know what to
do, and equally important what NOT to do!
The most common methods are to either pursue the route
that costs very little or basically nothing to do, but
the results vary wildly. Or you can pursue some of the
more costly credit repair routes that really do work.
And let's get this question out of the way before we go
any further: Is Credit Repair Legal? The answer is yes.
Not only is it legal, but it is necessary in today's
credit driven society. When you consider how much money
a good credit score can make and/or save you, then
credit repair is something that just about everyone
should be aware of.
Think of your credit report as a financial vehicle. If
you have a few 'dings' on your credit score, then just
like with a car you may decide to fix this yourself.
Here's how.
You follow the steps to do a credit dispute. It is
usually best to do this with the credit agency that is
reporting the information. They must respond by
following procedures outlined in the Fair Credit
Reporting Act which outlines the time lines they must
abide by. Of course you will need to be able to prove
why you believe the information is inaccurate so be
prepared to provide as much proof as possible including,
but not limited to, verification of when and how you
paid the item in dispute as well as any specific forms
required by the agency that you are making the dispute
with. The better you can document your case then the
better chance you have of getting the dispute ruled in
your favor.
Another very effective method for credit repair is to
hire a reputable company, many times a legal firm, but
not necessarily. This firm will make the disputes on
your behalf and are quite effective in getting items
removed and repairing your credit. As you can imagine
Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian all HATE these type
of credit repair companies and as a result once you hire
them you will start to get letters from the credit
reporting agency informing you that you do not need to
hire a company to help you repair your credit. But,
don't be deceived by the big three credit reporting
agencies, because they are only sending you these
letters because they know these credit repair agencies
make Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union all work by
proving what is on your report is actually accurate.
Fixing your credit does not happen 'overnight', but you
did not get 'bad credit' and need 'bad credit repair'
overnight either. It is a process. And it is common for
something to be removed from your credit report only to
have it put back on a few months later and that is why
it is valuable to have a credit repair organization that
will continue to monitor and correct these situations.
Also, it should be noted that this credit repair option
usually requires you to fax in information to the credit
repair company on a bi-weekly and sometimes, weekly
basis, but this small interaction is well worth it if
you get an interest rate on a home that is 2 points
lower and equates to saving you over $100,000.00 in
interest payments over the life of a 30 year loan!
Can Doing The Right Thing Really Hurt Your Credit Score?
A quick credit tip. Most people think that paying off a
debt is always good. The truth is the credit rating
system actually penalizes you for paying off certain
types of debts at certain times. For example. If you
have a bill that is going to drop off your credit report
after 7 years and you decide to pay that bill off in the
6th year because you got some unexpected money then you
have effectively 'brought that bad credit back to life'
for another 7 years! So in that case you would have been
better off NOT paying that bill and letting it drop off
your credit report in one year and not have the
derogatory information on your credit score anymore. And
if you want to pay the bill because you owe it, then you
are still better off waiting for it to drop off your
credit report and then contact them to make arrangements
to settle what you feel you owe.
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