Legal FICO Score Credit Repair

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Legal FICO Score Credit Repair - Outline

• Step 1: Obtain Credit Reports
• Step 2: Review Information
• Step 3: Rank Order
• Step 4: Initial Dispute
• Step 4a: The Credit Reporting
• Step 4b: Follow Up
• Step 5: Notice of Intent
• Step 6: Repeat Dispute

Credit Repair Tips and Tricks

Step 1:  Obtain current credit reports

The three main bureaus require you to have a recent report (less than 90 days old) before they will consider your dispute! The good news is that you only need to purchase the first report because after dispute an item and it's corrected, the credit bureau is required by law to send you a brand new credit report free.

Monitoring your credit report allows you to stay on top of your credit on a daily basis. Try it FREE for 7 days!

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There are bascially two types of credit reports: single and 3-in-1 reports. To get a current copy of your credit bureau: You can get a free report by going to www.annualcreditreport.com here. Be advised, they will not give you a score and most likely will make you wait to have it mailed to you.

You can also go to a credit monitoring company and get your score and bureau after signing up for their monitoring service Free Report & Score. Hint: you can cancel the service within the trial period without being charged.

Now, the new FACTA allows you to order one free report evey 12 months per credit bureau. If you have not ordered one in the last 12 months, gGo to the FTC's Website on Credit and click on the link "www.annualcredit report.com" located on the right side of the page. The link takes you to the annualcredit report.com website where you can request your free report.

If you've already ordered a free report through annualcredit report.com but it's more than 90 days old, you still might qualify for a free report if you live in certain states and meet certain criteria.

Up Step 2: Review Personal Information

The first, and most critical step is reviewing your personal information!

Once you have a current credit report, review the following personal information for any inaccurate, incorrect, erroneous, misleading, or outdated information!

• Names and Aliases (full names, spelling, Jr, Sr, III, maiden, married, nicknames, etc.)
• Addresses (check zip codes)
• Social Security Number(s)
• Date(s) of Birth
• State ID Number(s) (drivers license, student IDs, government Ids etc.)
• Spouse Information (maiden names, previous marriage names, nicknames etc.)
• Employers (names, dates, locations, type of termination etc.

Items that do not belong to you appear on your credit reports more often than you realize. And, once there, it tends to stick because it somehow matches up with other incorrect personally identifying information elsewhere in the report.

Always dispute mistakes in your personal information first, because this data is used to help verify all other items on your credit report! When you fix errors in your personal information first, other negative items will no longer match your personal information thus, your case to have them removed becomes that much stronger. (see step 4)

Up Step 3: Rank Order Questionable Items

After you've disputed and had corrected any personal information, you can then begin the next step of carefully reviewing the rest of the items and note any inaccurate, incorrect, erroneous, misleading, or outdated information then, rank order (see Rank Order Below) each item according to its relevant importance.

It does not matter whether the information is negative, neutral, or even positive; if it is in anyway erroneous, have it removed! An absolutely accurate credit report is paramount to determining your credit worthiness! (see Scores Explained)

Rank questionable items according their significance using the following ordered list. back to step 6

1. Personal data (see step 2 )
2. Bankruptcy (included or excluded items, chapter filed, filing date and so forth)
3. Consumer credit counseling (date entered counseled, progress, etc.)
4. Foreclosure (attempts, completed actions, dates, amounts, etc.)
5. Consumer credit counseling loans (debt consolidation loans, amounts, dates, what other debts were included, etc.)
6. Default (dates, amounts, etc.)
7. Repossession, (voluntary or involuntary, amount owed, dates etc.)
8. Court judgments (date, amount, type, reason etc.)
9. Collections (be sure the date shows the delinquent date NOT the date of collection actions)
10. Past due payments (number past due, amount, length of time, and if settled)
11. Late payments (correct dates are critical here, they determine how long the info stays in your reports)
12. Credit rejections (be sure it's you, and why)
13. Credit inquiries (be sure these pertain to you - watch for fraud)

Be sure to perform this step on all three national reports because the same questionable information may be on one, two or all three credit reports!

Up Step 4: Initial Dispute to Correct Information

Mail a dispute letter to each Credit Reporting Agency to fix errors in information discovered in Step 2.

Free initial credit report dispute letter

Once the credit reporting agency receives your dispute letter, they are obligated to investigate it and this obligation is not contingent upon you having been denied credit. However, just saying the information is wrong is not enough...you must present a solid case for your dispute!.

Usually between 10 and 30 days they'll send a letter informing you that they are investigating your dispute. Then, within another 10 to 30 days, you should receive a letter informing you of the results of their investigation.

CAUTION! Except for personal information which can be disputed all at once, dispute only one item at a time! Disputing more than one item may cause the credit bureau to reject your dispute as frivolous.

Step 4b: Follow Up Dispute Letter

In some cases, Reporting Agencies are slow to respond to your dispute. If this should occur, write another letter, strongly reminding the credit bureau of their obligations under the law.

Free Follow-up dispute letter

Up Step 5: Notice of Intent to File a Formal Complaint with FTC

Should the credit reporting agencies continue to ignore you, follow up with a written notice that you intend to file a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Then, be prepared to contact the FTC and file your formal complaint if you do not receive a response within 15 days of sending your notice of intent letter. Also, consider retaining an attorney , as willful failure to comply with the law may subject the Credit Reporting Agency to civil liability.

There are three ways you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Response Center:

Phone: toll-free 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357)

Or regular mail:

Mail to:
Federal Trade Commission
CRC-240 Washington, D.C. 20580

NOTE: The FTC does not resolve individual consumer disputes but rather it gathers complaints, comments, and inquiries to spot patterns of law violations so they can involve law enforcement action. Your complaint also helps them recognize and tell people about larger trends affecting consumers.

Up Step 6: Repeat Dispute Until All Information is Corrected

As soon as the Reporting Agency has corrected your personal information (steps 2- 4a) and provided you with an updated credit report, dispute the next most damaging item according to your rank ordered list

Remember, whether you dispute your report via official mail or electronically (email), dispute only one item at a time!

Continue disputing items until each and every questionable item has been corrected or deleted from your credit report!

When you've completed the process you should have two very important things

1. Corrected copies of your credit reports - supplied free by the Credit Reporting Agency; and

2. A better credit score!

Additional Notes

Note 1: Except for erroneous personal data, dispute each questionable item individually! Attempting a mass correction (i.e. challenging all information) makes it much easier for the credit reporting agency to consider this as evidence that your claim is frivolous because you failed to provide any allegations concerning specific items in your file.

 

Note 2: Unless there is clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, Credit Reporting Agencies are required to assume that all disputes are bona fide and must investigate the dispute according to the The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) USC, Title 15, Chapter 41, Subchapter III, Section 1681i, "Procedure in case of disputed accuracy”.

 

Note 3: Specific words to use when writing your dispute letters: erroneous, outdated, misleading, or unverifiable. Mere explanation of the reason a debt was not paid might not constitute a dispute and does not require the credit-reporting agency to re-investigate or accept your written dispute statements.