Can I Repair my Credit?
Credit restoration on your own, yes you can! Many of us, including me, have removed negatives from their reports using the techniques on this page. By the way, everything a credit repair company can do for you, you can do for yourself at a fraction of the cost.
We know sometimes people feel overwhelmed with the credit repair process and want to ask a live person a question if they get confused, if they do just give us a call. We've been helping client restore their credit scores for over 10 years, and we can help you. We offer a free initial cosultation and use techniques we talk about on our website.
Now, before you get started, make sure you are willing to also add positive credit accounts to your situation.
The information provided on this page is intended to help you fix ERRORS on your credit report and clean up thos items. While no one can legally remove accurate negative information from a credit report, the law does allow you to request an investigation of information in your file that you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete. On the other hand, it is perfectly legal to challenge ANYTHING on your credit report.
There charge for the investigation is free. The whole key to the credit repair procedure is that if they cant verify it, they have to remove it. For instance, if a credit bureau cannot contact a collection agency which is reporting a collection on your report, they cannot verify the information, and the credit bureau must delete the entry.
What should you challenge?
Everything that is in error, and ask for a complete deletion. In your initial challenge, don't dispute the information within a collection listing, charge-off, court record, repossession, foreclosure, or settled account. Save disputing the information within the listing for the next round of disputes, you should be prepared to do this a few times. Start off the reason for your dispute on a negative listing as " not mine".
What items are the toughest to get off?
You will have the toughest time getting bankruptcies, judgments, child support and foreclosures off of your credit report as these things are so easy for the credit bureaus to verify electronically.
Here is your first sample letter:
Date
Your Name
Your Address
City, State Zip
Credit Bureau
Bureau Address
City, State Zip
Dear Credit Bureau,
This letter is a formal complaint that you are reporting inaccurate credit information.
I am very distressed that you have included the below information in my credit profile due to its damaging effects on my good credit standing. As you are no doubt aware, credit reporting laws ensure that bureaus report only accurate credit information. No doubt the inclusion of this inaccurate information is a mistake on either your or the reporting creditor's part. Because of the mistakes on my credit report, I have been wrongfully denied credit recently for a <insert credit type for which you were denied here>, which was highly embarrassing and has negatively impacted my lifestyle.
optional With the proof I'm attaching to this letter, I'm sure you'll agree it needs to be removed ASAP.
The following information therefore needs to be verified and deleted from the report as soon as possible:
CREDITOR AGENCY, acct. 123-34567-ABC
Please delete the above information as quickly as possible.
Sincerely,
Your Signature
Your Name
SSN# 123-45-6789
Attachment included
Always include any copies of proof you may have, cancelled checks showing timely payments, paid off accounts, loans, anything that will show the information is in error. It never hurts to include the consequences that have resulted from this wrongful information as well. The credit agencies give the most immediate attention to seriously wronged consumers. Remember, they are bombarded with over 10,000 letters a day.
Here is your second letter:
Date
Your Name
Your Address
City, State Zip
Credit Bureau
Bureau Address
City, State Zip
RE: Dispute Letter of date you sent in first or subsequent requests
Dear Credit Bureau,
This letter is formal notice that you have failed to respond to my dispute letter of date. I sent this letter registered mail and have enclosed a copy of the return receipt which you signed on some date.
As you are well aware, federal law requires you to respond within 30 days. It has now been over that period since your receipt of my letter. As you are no doubt aware, failure to comply with federal regulations by credit reporting agencies are in serious violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and may be investigated by the FTC. Obviously, I am maintaining detailed records of all my correspondence with you.
I am aware that you may have misplaced my letters or have failed to respond to my letter because of an oversight due to the high volume of the requests you receive daily. If this is the case, I'm sure you'll want to handle this matter as soon as possible. For this purpose, I have included a copy of my original request, the dated receipt of your reception of the original letter and a copy of the proof verifying the incorrectness of the credit item you have mistakenly placed on my records.
The following information therefore needs to be verified and deleted from the report as soon as possible:
CREDITOR AGENCY, acct. 123-34567-ABC
Please delete this erroneous item from my credit report as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Your Signature
Your Name
SSN# 123-45-6789
Use this letter to follow up with the credit bureaus with respect to the original dispute letters you already sent to them. You will use this letter if you have not heard back from the bureaus in 30 days.
Here is you final letter:
Date
Your Name
Your Address
City, State Zip
Credit Bureau
Bureau Address
City, State Zip
RE: Your Social Security Number
Dear Credit Bureau,
Enclosed is a copy of the lawsuit that I filed against you in (your county) court on (date of filed). Currently, the Pretrail Conference is scheduled for (insert date and time and location). The case number is (insert case #).
The lawsuit was filed due to the utter lack of response from your company. When someone is the victim of identity theft, it is simply a nightmare trying to get false information removed from a credit file. I have contacted all of the false creditors listed on my credit file. I have challenged all of the false listings on my credit file. Nothing ever happens to fix the situation.
Over 90 days ago I wrote each the creditors in question and demanded proof that I am their customer. I asked for proof of the alleged debt, including specifically the alleged contract or other instrument bearing my signature. So far none of them has been able to provide such proof to me. I have sent follow-up letters to each of them and there is still no proof. I have attempted phone contact, but I simply get transferred around and nothing ever gets accomplished.
I have fully investigated my rights in this matter. Under the doctrine of estoppel by silence, Engelhardt v Gravens (Mo) 281 SW 715, 719, I may presume that no proof of the alleged debt, nor therefore any such debt, in fact exists. I have copies of the certified letters and dates prepared to bring to court on April 10th. Also, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, these disputed items may not appear on my credit report if they cannot be supported by any evidence.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, if they cannot verify the debt within 30 days, then it must be removed. Your letters to me claim to have ‘verified’ the debt, but this is in fact not true under law. Simply contacting the alleged creditor and asking them to match up numbers in their database is no sufficient verification for identity theft. Of course the information matches up. Someone clearly used my information without my authorization.
Now I am suing Equifax for being such a pain in the posterior to me. I have provided more than sufficient evidence to get these false accounts removed.
You may contact me before April 10th at (my phone number) or at my address listed at the top of this letter. This matter can be settled simply by your agreement to remove the false information from my credit file.
I require a response, on point, in writing, hand signed, and in a timely manner. If I get another pointless letter from you saying that it has already been ‘verified’ then there will be no more opportunity for negotiation. This will proceed in court until I have successfully proven to a judge that this false information must be removed from my credit file. I will also be aggressively pursuing the full judgment that I can get against Equifax for violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Defamation.
I have already won a similar lawsuit against Trans Union. Enclosed is a copy of that settlement. I will agree to a similar settlement with Equifax if you contact me before April 10th. If you accept the same terns as Trans Union did, then I will dismiss my lawsuit against Equifax and you will not need to appear in (my county and state).
The items to be removed from my credit report are listed as follows:
(list all accounts and account numbers)
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Your Signature
Your Name
SSN# 123-45-6789
Make sure to edit this one carefully to include all of your correct information. Some of the language in this letter was from an identity theft case so you will have to tailor the verbage to fit your situation. You will also want to provide them with a copy of the filed lawsuit.
These letters should only be used if you truly intend to restore your credit score by adding positive factors to your credit report!
What you need to do next is add some positive information to your credit report that will help balance the negative information. While the past-due accounts lowered your score, adding new accounts that you manage well and pay on time as agreed will increase your score. I can't stress the "manage well and pay on time" enough.
One of the easiest ways to add positive information to your credit report and boost your credit score is to borrow money from yourself. Let me explain, most banks and credit unions will issue you an installment loan based on the amount of money you have in your savings account. For example, you could borrow $1,000 (the amount you may have in savings) and make regular monthly payments for a set period of time, say six months or one year, until the loan is paid in full.
Also add a credit card. A secured credit card has several benefits to help you manage your money, build your credit history, and enjoy a strong financial future:
- Merchants treat secured credit cards the same as they do other cards. That means you can use it to reserve a hotel room or pay for a car rental. You may not always be able to do this with cash or a debit card.
- A secured credit card helps you build your credit history and influences your FICO credit score. Every time you make at least your minimum monthly payment, you are demonstrating to your credit card issuer and credit reporting agencies that you can handle credit. The longer you responsibly use your secured credit card, the more likely you will increase your credit score.
- A secured card can help you learn to spend responsibly. By making your payments on time and in full, you will develop good money habits that will serve you well throughout your financial life.
By positively affecting your credit score, a secured credit card may help you qualify for a traditional non-secured credit card as well as other types of credit, such as a car loan or mortgage. A good credit score can also help you get better interest rates for loans and other credit
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