You’ve received your credit report and find there is indeed an error. You’ve heard it takes an act of Congress to get credit report errors corrected and we all know how long that takes. Actually it can be done if you know how.
Your first step is write down every thing on your report that is incorrect. On the back of credit report you will find a set of instructions – read these very carefully. Contact the credit bureau and locate the right person to talk to.
The only way you will get your report corrected is to make a written appeal. As a matter of fact, the Consumer protection laws require you to notify credit bureaus in writing of any inaccuracies they report. To do this, you must request that the credit agency send you a “dispute” form. Make sure you get the name of the person you are speaking to, their supervisor, and the exact name of the department. After your have completed the form, return it to the Credit Rating agency by certified mail with a return receipt requested. This way you will know when it has been received by the agency.
At this point the credit bureau will try to verify the dispute you have described with the bank, lender, or creditor responsible for having the damaging information listed. You will be notified of their decision in 30-45 days.
The dispute will probably be resolved in your favor because most creditors don’t keep old information and don’t want to take the time away from other profitable activities to verify the report.
It is also recommended by those with experience that you contact the creditor at the same time. Again, you will need to send a certified letter with a return receipt requested. When you know the letter has been received contact the creditor by phone. Ask if they will make the correction. If they will, ask them to send you a written confirmation. Specifically, ask for a copy of the UDF, or universal data form. The UDF is a document that your creditor transmits to the credit agency to update your report. If they will not give you a copy of the UDF ask for a letter confirming that the creditor has notified the credit agency of the error.
Experts further recommend that if a credit card company has inaccurately reported that you were late making a payment, you request that creditor mail a copy of the UDF to all your other creditors. The reason being some credit card companies will raise your interest if the find out you were late paying a bill.
Disputing Credit Report Information
01-01-2010 by admin
Information obtained from your credit report enables creditors to gauge the risk factor in lending money to you. Credit report usually provides information on your identity and on how regularly you pay your bills. Credit report is used as the deciding factor by creditors when you apply for credit facility.
Thus, it is vital that you maintain a good credit report consciously. Incorrect information on your report could be damaging in the long term and will affect your buying power drastically. It is therefore necessary to monitor and make sure your information with the credit reporting agencies is updated and accurate.
In case of any discrepancies in your information or rating, you can dispute the credit report information with the help of the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the FCRA.
Review Your Credit Report
The first step in verifying your credit report is to obtain a copy of one. According to Federal law, you are eligible to one copy of credit report from each of the agencies annually. After obtaining your credit report, go through it thoroughly to ensure that the information reported is correct or not. In case of incorrect information, you can dispute the same with the help of the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the FCRA.
File A Credit Report Dispute
Upon finding incorrect information in your credit report the first step should be to alert the credit bureau and the source of your information in writing. Doing this puts you on the path to dispute the wrong information.
The next step involves attaching proof supporting your claim. This includes statements or checks which have been canceled. Along with this it is a good idea to include your personal details like name, current postal address, and information on dispute and explanation on why the information is incorrect. To provide a clear picture, you could include a copy of the credit report highlighting the disputed information.
These documents have to be then dispatched through certified mail requesting for a return receipt. This will make sure you have proof your mail has been received by the credit bureau. It is very important to keep a copy of all the documents you send them.
The Credit Bureau Responds To Your Dispute
The credit bureau usually takes about thirty days to respond to your claim after checking all the necessary information and facts. Credit bureau sends the disputed facts to the information provider which in turn investigates the same and reports back to the bureau.
Upon completion of the investigation, the credit bureau provides you with the results. In case the dispute has been accepted and facts altered, the bureau provides you with a free copy of the changed report. Credit bureau can also be requested to send the correction to any other company which may have accessed your credit report in the past six months.
After all this, it is a good idea to check the other credit bureaus as well and set right the information.
About Bad Credit Auto Finance
18-12-2009 by admin
Have you recently made an attempt to get an auto loan and were denied? If this is the case then it is likely that you were denied your request for a loan due to bad credit. Of course with all of the fancy terminology that loan officers often use they may have said something like, they only grant loans to prime borrowers and unfortunately your credit score places you in the sub prime range. Many people are not familiar with what that exactly means but are certain that it isn’t good.
Basically, sub prime means that you have bad credit. While you are not going to get a loan from this particular lender it doesn’t necessarily mean that no one will give you a loan. Every lending institution has its own factors that constitute “bad credit” but you are teetering on the very edge if your credit score is even 600.
Perhaps the good news is that there are lenders who stay in business by extending loans to people that fall into the sub prime category. The deal is that they will loan you money to buy that new automobile but in return you are going to pay a higher amount than someone with good credit would pay.
That doesn’t, however, mean that you have to get raked over the coals. There are some things that you can do to ensure that you get the best price that is possible for someone with bad credit. First of all, get a copy of your credit report! ALWAYS stay on top of your credit information by using all 3 credit bureaus. Request a tri merge credit report. Know what your credit report says and make sure that what it shows is correct. Dispute all inaccuracies!
If the credit bureau cannot verify the inaccuracy within 30 days, they have to delete it from your credit report per the Fair Credit Reporting ACT. You can also shop around for the best lender because they are not all going to offer you the same deal. Maybe even consider securing a loan prior to visiting a dealership. The other alternative that you have is to see if your credit score can be brought up with a bit of work. This may mean postponing your auto purchase for a few months but it really would be worth it for the savings that will be involved.
The Perfect Credit Dispute Letter
23-06-2009 by admin
The key to repairing your bad credit is the Credit Dispute Letter. You’ve put so much effort (probably a lot of cash too) into eliminating old debts and creating good credit but if you want to rewrite history, credit-wise, you’ve got to convince the credit bureaus to take the eraser to your past. Getting the letter just right requires a lot more than perfect prose. As is so often true with life, success can come from what you don’t say, what you do, how you say it and never forget… timing.
When composing a Credit Dispute Letter remember the old adage: Less it more. Your letter isn’t meant to convince anyone but to point out errors. You are not saying “why” a debt is not listed accurately on your report, but rather “what” is not listed accurately. Start with a simple statement that will explain what you want the the credit bureau to do: On reviewing my credit report, I haved found these discrepancies. Please delete them from my credit report within 30 days as required by law and send me a report of the corrections” – that pretty much sums up everything, doesn’t it. The fact is you don’t need to beg them to remove old credit items, it is there legal responsibility to research anything you say is incorrect and IF they can’t prove it true they must delete it.
Now list virtually everything that could hurt your credit worthiness. It is up to you to decide if you want an item on your report but they probably won’t delete everything, so be aggressive. List the creditor, account number and amount of each item you would like gone. Use no more than three words of explaination: “account never late”, “duplicated account”, or “reported in error” should cover 90% of disputed items. Never say that a credit blemish is from fraud or criminal activity because you are saying that it is reporting true and you will have to prove you aren’t to blame. Say as little as possible.
It is the credit bureaus responsibility to act within 30 days but you want them to know when the clock starts. Send any Credit Dispute Letters certified mail with a signature required. From the moment someone signs for that letter they have 30 days to contact the reported creditors and get a written verification of the bad credit items. Time is on your side and you want the bureaus to know that.