If you find yourself asking this question, realize you are not alone. Many individuals are suffering from past financial mistakes. In a study performed it was estimated that approximately 25% of all credit reports contain an error, this error could be hurting your overall score.
1. The first thing you must do is request a copy of your report with each bureau. In other words you must get your Experian, Expuifax, and TransUnion report. Each bureau keeps a separate copy of your information and you will likely be surprised at the variations between your three reports.
2. Look for inaccuracies and negative items. Congress has provided you with the right to dispute any item you feel are inaccurate on your report; this right is given to you by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This law was passed in order to protect you from the bureaus and overzealous collection agencies.
3. Your next step is to file a credit dispute challenging the accuracy of the items on your report. You must write a letter to each bureau for each item. For example if you have a collection account on all three reports you will write three dispute letters and mail one to each bureau.
In your letter you must include the item you are challenging, the reason it is inaccurate, and any supporting documentation. Once the bureaus deem your dispute valid they will investigate the item. Upon investigation they will contact the company that created the negative item and ask them to verify the account. If it can not be verified then it must be removed from your report. By removing negative items from your report you will be taking the most aggressive steps to improving a damaged score.
What about all the experts saying you just have to live with bad credit and after seven years the item will be removed from your report? Well this is a total myth and further a public relations campaign run by the bureaus.
Why? Well contrary to popular belief the bureaus have no connection with our government. The bureaus are private businesses just like retail stores, grocery stores, and any business that reports profits. The bureaus earn billions of dollars every year and instead of working with the government they have been fined over and over again for not complying with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The fact is the bureaus have no financial incentive to ensure the information they collect about you is accurate. This is because bureaus sell your information to businesses and lenders that perform credit checks; they only spend money investigating disputes.
Therefore the bureaus have spent boat loads of money to spread these myths that you have to just live with bad credit. Additionally they have created elaborate means to avoid investigating consumer disputes. This is why you hear people say how hard it is to fix damaged credit and the popular myth that you just have to live with damaged credit.
However this couldn't be further from the truth. The legislation that was passed by our government says that the maximum amount of time an item can remain is seven years. Nowhere does it say anything about the minimum amount of time an item must remain on your history.
You can remove items from your report yourself. However if you get frustrated by the bureaus and their tactics we encourage you to seek out a professional credit repair service that is familiar with the bureaus methods and federal consumer laws.
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