How to Repair Your Credit, One Tradeline at a Time.
Posted: December 1st, 2010 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Credit, Tips | Tags: Credit, credit repair, Guest Post, How To, Tips | 1 Comment »How to Repair Credit One Tradeline at a Time
Nobody begins adulthood with the intention of getting negative marks on their credit file. Well, at least not most people. However, at one point or another, either through poor finance choices or because of a genuine oversight, you may have to tackle the issue of credit repair. For some people, this will involve reestablishing credit after bankruptcy, divorce or numerous defaults. For others, it could be as simple as forgetting to pay a bill or two on time. Knowing the process that you will have to go through will save you time, energy, and possibly money.
photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/travistruman/
Free Annual Credit Reports
There are tons of websites that claim to offer free annual credit reports, but the truth is that most of them want something from you – money. Even if these sites do let you see a credit report online for free, you will only get access to an estimated FICO score, or a list of fairly up to date tradelines. A tradeline is any item that appears on your credit report.
The only place that you can get a copy of both your FICO score and an accurate listing of your tradelines is AnnualCreditReport.com. Although you will be tempted to peak at your scores online, it is recommended that you opt to have a hard copy mailed to your home from the three credit reporting bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. This step will save you some money and assist you with disputes if need be.
Reviewing Your Credit File
This part of the process will determine whether you will have to invest a few weeks of your time or are home free. After you have a copy of your hard copy credit reports, it is time to go through each trade line and compare the remarks from each of your accounts. There will likely be a few minor discrepancies, such as one credit bureau reporting a slightly lower balance than another. As long as the payment history reflected is accurate and no extraneous accounts appear, don’t worry about it.
If available, use billing statements and receipts to compare against what is on your credit reports. If you see a major discrepancy, highlight it, take note and continue forward. You will be sifting through around seven years of your credit history, so be patient and wait until you are completely finished before going any further.
If you find any errors that you cannot disprove with billing statements or payment receipts, check your credit card statements, bank records and check registers. Luckily, most people don’t pay their bills with cash. So there is a good chance that you will have the proof lying around somewhere.
Request an Account History Review
If you find errors on your credit report, you should request that they be removed. Sometimes this can be as easy as calling the company that handled the account and faxing over your receipts, but other times a knock-down, drag-out fight will be necessary. Start with the direct approach first. Using the company name, address and account number listed on your credit report, locate the main phone number and ask to speak to someone in billing.
You might get transferred to the archives department if the account is closed or if you are disputing a fairly old payment. Be patient as you will probably be inadvertently transferred to people that cannot help you, get told to call back, and repeat the same process again. Inhale…exhale…continue.
Once you are certain that no headway has been made, a certified letter to the company’s address might do the trick. Give them adequate time to respond before taking further action, with 30 days being the standard accepted time-frame. In the meantime, you can try to look for the email addresses of the CEO and people in the public relations department. If you are lucky enough to find a working email address, the problem will get resolved quickly.
For genuine mistakes, the steps outlined above are usually all that it takes to get a tradeline error removed. Unfortunately, some companies, for whatever reason, are hard pressed to correct any type of mistake. This is when you need to get directly involved with the credit reporting bureaus. Although TransUnion, Equifax and Experian have online dispute forms and toll free phone numbers, sending correspondence via standard mail usually prompts more favorable results.
The Dispute Process
Read up on the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. This is an act passed by Congress. It outlines the responsibilities and rights that consumers and companies alike are subject to.
The three major credit bureaus handle countless disputes on a daily basis so, if your dispute is not worded correctly, an unfavorable decision could be made. You don’t have to write anything fancy, but clear and concise language backed up by physical proof will be necessary for your dispute to be accurately reviewed. Just state the facts, and include dates and copies of previous correspondences.
A decision from the credit bureau will be mailed to you explaining why or why not they agree with your dispute. If your dispute was upheld, allow the company that made the reporting error up to 30 days to correct their mistake. If the dispute was found to be unsubstantiated, and you truly feel that you are in the right, write to the credit bureau again, making sure to note exactly why you think that they made the wrong decision. Many times disputes are not even seen by human eyes as electronic scanning software is used to read and analyze the bulk of electronic and mailed disputes. Try writing out your dispute by hand this time, or use a font that simulates cursive handwriting.
Most companies will quickly correct reporting mistakes because they honestly did not make them on purpose in the first place. On the other hand, certain unscrupulous companies, such as unlicensed debt collection agencies, will be more interested in attempting to strong-arm a payment out of you. If you can provide proof that you paid your debt, or if the reporting company cannot prove that you owed it in the first place, there is no reason that a negative mark should be on your credit.
While this process works great to remove erroneous tradelines take care not to abuse your power. Taking advantage of a situation in which you know that you owe a company money could result in your being blacklisted or even taken to court if proof surfaces in the future.
If you are in debt and are close to filing bankruptcy, you probably are asking yourself what are your options on how to repair credit effectively, right? You may have heard of several suggestions given by people on how to go about repairing your credit, however you can’t find any of these beneficial on your part. The best way to resolve your problem is to know more about the available solutions for this problem and how to resolve it without compromising what is left of your savings.