The Official Guide For Credit Repair

The Official Guide For Credit Repair

By CreditMarvel.com     Reposted By: Top Notch Marine

Preface: If you are planning to buy a boat soon. It would be great if your credit score was at its best. Top Notch Marine is a proactive boat dealer and we want to help you to get the very best boat loan possible. If you have any questions you may contact our senior credit analyst Greg Silvers at gregs@topnotchmarine.com or 772 237-3822.

credit repairIt always comes as a surprise when we request a credit check and find that our scores are far from what we expected, and not in a good way.  Sure, we forgot to pay the electric bill four years back and it was two days late.  But as you begin reading your credit reports you see some small errors, discrepancies between the different reports, and some outright huge inaccuracies. No wonder your score is being reported as lower than you thought!

Credit repair is the process of restoring the information held by the various credit bureaus to their rightfully true and honest state.  You are legally protected from bearing the burden of these mistakes or malicious misprints.  The process is not simple or quick, but with patience and attention to detail you can have these problems corrected.  Combine this approach with better financial habits moving forward and you’ll restore your credit to the high levels you’ve earned and enjoy all of the benefits that come along with it.

When Credit Repair is Needed

People tend to never concern themselves with their FICO score until it’s too late.  It’s not until they are applying for a new credit card or attempting to secure a mortgage or car loan that they realize something is amiss.  The problem has two layers to it.

Your unfortunately low score can result in one of two situations: you’ll pay absurdly high interest rates or you’ll flat out be denied the loan or line of credit.  Let’s use simple numbers here for the sake of the example.  Receiving a 9% interest rate instead of 6% rate over the 30-year lifetime of a fixed mortgage can cost you as much as $800 extra per month depending on the size of the loan.  Multiply that out and you’d have paid $288,000 more in interest than you would have otherwise.

This is why you need to repair your credit now, especially if you anticipate any larger purchase in the near future.  For most of us there is simply no realistic way to purchase an entire home in cash.  We must have access to lines of credit at reasonable interest rates.  Don’t wait to get started.

Your Legal Rights

Forget about all of the complex legalese language out there.  When it comes to your credit score, your rights are very simple to understand.  If someone tries to confuse you about any details, question their motives because it’s as plain as this…

Any time a bank, employer, or company denies your application for a loan, credit, or employment, you can receive a free credit report if you report this “negative action” against you within 60 days.  Everyone is entitled to a free copy of their credit report from each of the credit bureaus once every 12 months, but you have to ask for it.  If you’re unemployed, a welfare recipient, or a victim of identity theft or other types of fraud that affect your score, you can also receive an additional free report.

Most importantly, nobody can charge you to investigate or correct your credit report.  Disputing misrepresentations, mistakes, fraud, or outdated details on your report is within your rights.  The responsibility falls upon the credit reporting company and the company supplying the faulty information to research and correct these inaccuracies.  Never hesitate to contact both the bureau and the information provider and ask that your rights be fulfilled.

Credit Marvel Tip:

Create a staggered schedule of requesting your credit report from each of the three main nationwide bureaus.  Ask for one every four months, rotating bureaus, and you’ll be able to check your score that often over the years to stay on top of any potential issues.

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The DIY Credit Repair Process

familyBefore you get started, prepare yourself mentally.  Understand that you may encounter gross misrepresentations of your payment history.  You may find that information and events that would reflect positively on you are missing.  Self-auditing your reports is very possible but very time-consuming and can be additionally frustrating due to elements being out of your control.

Even when you finish your part, you’ll wait weeks for a response.  If you feel up to the task, keep reading along and get to work!  If you’d rather have one of the reputable credit repair companies take care of it for you, skip this section and move on to the next.

Step 1: Receive All Three Free Credit Reports

As mentioned above, you are within your rights as established by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) to receive your credit report free of charge once per year from each of the three main credit bureaus.  Use the resources below to obtain copies of each.

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Step 2: Review All Details and Items

Now that you have all three reports, plan out a solid portion of your day to cross-reference and audit each of them together.  You have two main goals during this step.

First, make sure all of your information is correct with the reporting agency and the company providing the information. Second, meticulously go through every item to find any mistakes, miscalculations, or absence of information.  Remember, each report will list out potential problems apart from other items.  You will want to resolve these but don’t assume that these are the only issues.  You are double checking everything to find what the bureaus did not.

You will find information regarding your identity, including your past addresses, employment history, names and aliases, and your social security number.  You’ll see all types of accounts you have with various companies including any bank accounts or loans.  If you’ve ever had an account sent to a collection agency, this will be noted.  You’ll also see all of the times you’ve requested a new line of credit or loan and any time a company or you requested to see your report.

As you navigate through these items, your goal is to analyze certain areas to find incorrect or missing data.  Foremost, look at the potentially negative items listed in their own section, which are typically missed payments.  If any appear that shouldn’t, make note of these as they are the most damaging to your score.  Look at all of your open accounts and ensure the ages of the accounts and the standings are accurate.  Older accounts in good standing are very beneficial to your score, so in the future don’t be eager to close any old accounts or you’ll be deleting the proof that you’re capable of responsibly managing your credit lines.  Make sure all of your accounts appear on the report because having a variety of account and associated payment structures will boost your score as well.  Finally, ensure all of your credit limits are reported accurately.

Credit Marvel Tip:

If you find evidence of fraudulent use of your credit, immediately contact the credit bureaus to set up a fraud alert.  This forces lenders to contact you to confirm your identity before allowing you to open a credit account with them.  If someone has stolen your identity, this will stop the continuing problem.  You can also freeze your credit reports until you’ve managed the credit restoration process and repaired your report to full correctness.

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Step 3: File Your Disputes

check your credit reportAt no cost to you, you can file your disputes with each agency, which must then investigate each item within 30 days.  Take advantage of how the law functions by not contacting each agency about each problem or reaching out to each information provider.  The agency’s investigation will include the information provider, and if a correction is to be made, the information provider must contact each agency themselves to provide the correct data.

Use the sample letter in resources below as a template for your dispute.  Please remember to never include the original copies of any documents that contain your proof of inaccuracies.  Keep these for your records and supply only copies of these documents.  You can also send a copy of your credit report with each problematic area highlighted and numbered in accordance to your dispute letter.  Also, consider sending your letter by certified mail with a return receipt requested.  This will provide proof that the dispute letter and accompanying documents were delivered.

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Step 4: Wait for a Response

The credit bureaus and lenders must investigate and respond within 30 days.  This means you should wait at least 45 days in order for any mail documents to arrive.  The response will contain one of two replies for each dispute item stating that the inaccuracies were either removed or that they disagree with your claim.  If they disagree, do not give up.  Attempt to find more documentation supporting your position and contact the reporting agency again.

If any items are removed successfully, you will also be provided another copy of your updated credit report.  Legally, any items changed or removed cannot be restored to the original version without proof from the information provider and without first contacting you concerning this proof.  You may also request that the credit bureaus send notices of these corrections to any potential lender who requested your report in the last six months.

Credit Marvel Tip:

If the dispute is denied because the lender believes the information they provided is accurate, you can place a statement of dispute on your credit report.  This won’t change your score but it will give you the opportunity to let future lenders know that inaccuracies exist and to consider these when determining to offer you credit.  These statements of dispute remain on your credit report for two years.

That’s it!

If you followed all of the steps above with patience and diligence, you’ll have done all that can be done in the credit repair side of increasing your FICO score.  It’s a lot of work and takes quite a large amount of time.  If you don’t want to be bothered with it, we’ve provided a list of trusted professionals below that you can consult.  They can manage the entire process for you so you don’t have to get lost in this mess of paperwork and headaches.

Consult a Credit Repair Expert

specialistsWhile a guide such as this one can surely make the process of credit repair a bit easier, there’s truly no such thing as easy or quick credit restoration.  The entire ordeal requires an inordinate amount of patience and focus.  Many folks decide they don’t have it in them or would rather just not spend the time.  And that’s perfectly fine because there are professionals who can help you out and take the burden off of your shoulders.

We at Credit Marvel have narrowed down the list of professionals to include only the best credit repair companies out there.  Please be aware that there are a lot of scams out there.  You run the risk of encountering cheats who offer convenience while promising the world, and give nothing in return.  Protect yourself from further fraud by not straying from the professionals listed here on our site:

Let the pros analyze your credit report, outline a personalized road-map to achieving your goals, go through the dispute process with the credit bureaus, and even negotiate with your creditors to help reduce your payments and get you back on track.  If the thought of working through this process gives you the slightest anxiety or procrastination, just hand it over to a specialist and be done with it.

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Create Good Credit Habits

Fixing problematic items on your credit report is only the first step to maintaining and increasing your credit score.  First and foremost, make sure you’re paying your bills and any loans on time so that your score will not only stay as high as it is, but will grow over time.  If you encounter any future problems with debt or have debt now, immediately contact your lender to explain the issue and negotiate better terms.  Many lenders will be happy to help you since it helps them as well.  As you continue to use credit, try not to float a balance of more than 30% of your overall credit limit.  Anything above this ratio can begin to lower your score again.

With diligence, practice, and dedication to the task, you can fix your credit score up for the long-term.  Enlist the help of your spouse and friends in budgeting your finances, and ask professionals to help you audit and correct errors on your credit report.  You’ll be back to the top in no time, enjoying lower interest rates and higher credit limits and loans.  Good luck!