Posts Tagged Credit Repair Companies
Ftc Credit Report Repair Facts – for Consumers
Mike Clover asked:
The FTC claims that Credit Report Repair may be better for you if you do it yourself. You have seen advertisements on TV, local newspapers, internet. All of these credit report repair companies claim the following:
* "Credit Problem? No Problem!"
* " We can get rid of bad credit problems – 100% guaranteed"
* "We can remove bankruptcies, judgments, bad loans and tax liens from your credit file forever
The FTC says "Don’t believe these statements. The only thing that will fix your credit is time, conscious effort, and a personal debt repayment plan will improve your credit report.
This article will explain how you can improve your creditworthiness and gives legitimate resources for low or no cost help.
The Scam
All over the US companies appeal to families and individuals that have bad credit problems. They promise for a fee, to clean up your credit report so you can get a car loan, a home mortgage, a job or even a insurance. The fact is, they cannot deliver. After you pay them hundred of dollars or even thousands of dollars in fees, these companies do absolutely nothing to improve your credit report. They typically vanish with your money says the FTC.
Warning Signs
If you feel credit repair with one of these companies is your choice, look out for the following.
* Companies that want you to pay before services are rendered
* Companies that don’t tell you your legal rights and what you cannot do yourself for free
* Companies that recommend that you don’t contact the credit reporting companies
* Companies that recommend you create a new identity by way of Identification Number.
* Companies that advise you to dispute all information in your credit report
Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies cannot require you to pay until they have completed services they claim they can provide. The FTC says to get what they claim they can do in written, and once it is done then pay them.
The FACTS
No one can legally remove accurate information from you credit report. If you owe the debt, it will be on there for 7 years from original collection date. The law allows you the consumer to dispute inaccurate information on your report for FREE. There is no cost to you for doing this. Everything a credit repair company does for a fee, you can do it yourself for FREE. This is all in accordance to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
v You are entitled to Free Credit Report if you are denied for the following
1. Credit Application
2. Insurance
3. Employment
You are to ask for this report within 60 days of receiving this notification. You are also entitled to the free report if you are unemployed and are about to apply for job, if you are on welfare, or if your report is inaccurate because of fraud including identity theft.
v All 3 Credit Bureaus – Equifax, Trans Union and Experian are required to provide you once a year with a Free Credit Report. In order to get this report you must go to annualcreditreport.com.
v You are allowed to dispute items that are not yours for free. Under the FCRA any company that is reporting information about you that is inaccurate, this information must be updated correctly. If you owe the debt it will not be removed.
Step One
The consumer credit reporting company that is reporting information incorrectly about you must be informed in writing what information is inaccurate. You are to include a copy of documents backing your claim. You are to clearly identify in the claim the following
1. Your full name
2. Address
3. The item in the report that you are disputing
4. The request that it should be removed or corrected
5. Enclose a copy of the report and circle the item in question.
Your credit report dispute letter may look something like this:
Date
You’re Name
Mailing Address
City, State, Zip
Re: Disputing Inaccuracies on My Credit Report
Name of Credit Reporting Bureau
Mailing Address
City, State, Zip
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing for two (2) reasons:
1. To dispute certain information in my credit file; and
2. To have you investigate/re-investigate and remove inaccurate information from
my Credit Report and prevent its re-insertion. The item(s) I dispute are encircled
on the attached copy of the credit report and further identified by (identify the
items by name of source, such as creditor or tax court, etc. and identify type of
item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.)This item is (inaccurate or
incomplete) because (describe what is inaccurate or incomplete and why). I am
requesting that the item be deleted (or whatever specific change you are
requesting) to correct the information.(If you are enclosing documents such as
copies of cancelled checks, payment records, court documents, send copies
only, you should always retain the originals — and use the following sentence.)
Enclosed are copies of the following documents supporting my position:
1.
2.
3.
Please reinvestigate this (these) matter(s) and (delete or correct) the disputed
items within the time frame required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and
inform me in writing of the outcome. Thank you for your time and consideration in
this matter.
Sincerely,
________________________
(Signature)
Your name
Once the investigation is complete, whether they removed the item or not, the creditor must give you something in writing. If the information was deemed incorrect, then they must remove it, and not put it back on your report.
Step Two
Advise the creditor or other information provider, in writing, that you dispute an item. Be sure to include copies only, not your original supporting your claim. The creditors usually provide an address for disputes. If the creditor reports the items to the 3 credit bureaus, they must include the dispute during the reporting time. If you are correct, the creditor must remove the item from the Bureaus it’s reporting too.
For information on "How to Dispute Credit Report Errors, go to ftc.gov/credit.
The reporting of correct information
When negative information is being reported about you, and it’s accurate the only way it will go away is with time. A consumer credit reporting company can report negative information about you for 7 years and bankruptcies for 10 years. Judgments can be reported for 7 years or until the statue of limitations run out.
Credit Repair Organization Act
By law credit repair companies must give you a copy of the "Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law" before you sign any contract. They must also give you a written contract that specifies your rights and obligations. Read these documents carefully before you sign anything.
Example of what a credit report company cannot do:
v Charge you for anything until services have been completed
v Make false claims about there services
v Provide any services until they have your signature on a written contract and have completed a 3 day waiting period. During this time you may cancel the contract without any fees occurred.
v Payment terms for services rendered, along with total cost
v Detailed description of services you are paying for
v How long it will take to achieve results
v Any guarantees they offer
v Company address and name
Check your Credit Report at least 4 to 5 times a year.
Even if you don’t have poor credit, you need to know what’s on your credit report. Here are some good reasons per the FTC.
v Because the information it contains may affect whether you get a loan and the payment terms for that loan
v Make sure the information is accurate, complete, and up to date before you apply for a mortgage, credit card, car, insurance or even a job.
v To help guard against identity theft
Hopefully this has shed some light on credit repair, and the importance of have a recent copy of your free credit report.
DALLAS
The FTC claims that Credit Report Repair may be better for you if you do it yourself. You have seen advertisements on TV, local newspapers, internet. All of these credit report repair companies claim the following:
* "Credit Problem? No Problem!"
* " We can get rid of bad credit problems – 100% guaranteed"
* "We can remove bankruptcies, judgments, bad loans and tax liens from your credit file forever
The FTC says "Don’t believe these statements. The only thing that will fix your credit is time, conscious effort, and a personal debt repayment plan will improve your credit report.
This article will explain how you can improve your creditworthiness and gives legitimate resources for low or no cost help.
The Scam
All over the US companies appeal to families and individuals that have bad credit problems. They promise for a fee, to clean up your credit report so you can get a car loan, a home mortgage, a job or even a insurance. The fact is, they cannot deliver. After you pay them hundred of dollars or even thousands of dollars in fees, these companies do absolutely nothing to improve your credit report. They typically vanish with your money says the FTC.
Warning Signs
If you feel credit repair with one of these companies is your choice, look out for the following.
* Companies that want you to pay before services are rendered
* Companies that don’t tell you your legal rights and what you cannot do yourself for free
* Companies that recommend that you don’t contact the credit reporting companies
* Companies that recommend you create a new identity by way of Identification Number.
* Companies that advise you to dispute all information in your credit report
Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies cannot require you to pay until they have completed services they claim they can provide. The FTC says to get what they claim they can do in written, and once it is done then pay them.
The FACTS
No one can legally remove accurate information from you credit report. If you owe the debt, it will be on there for 7 years from original collection date. The law allows you the consumer to dispute inaccurate information on your report for FREE. There is no cost to you for doing this. Everything a credit repair company does for a fee, you can do it yourself for FREE. This is all in accordance to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
v You are entitled to Free Credit Report if you are denied for the following
1. Credit Application
2. Insurance
3. Employment
You are to ask for this report within 60 days of receiving this notification. You are also entitled to the free report if you are unemployed and are about to apply for job, if you are on welfare, or if your report is inaccurate because of fraud including identity theft.
v All 3 Credit Bureaus – Equifax, Trans Union and Experian are required to provide you once a year with a Free Credit Report. In order to get this report you must go to annualcreditreport.com.
v You are allowed to dispute items that are not yours for free. Under the FCRA any company that is reporting information about you that is inaccurate, this information must be updated correctly. If you owe the debt it will not be removed.
Step One
The consumer credit reporting company that is reporting information incorrectly about you must be informed in writing what information is inaccurate. You are to include a copy of documents backing your claim. You are to clearly identify in the claim the following
1. Your full name
2. Address
3. The item in the report that you are disputing
4. The request that it should be removed or corrected
5. Enclose a copy of the report and circle the item in question.
Your credit report dispute letter may look something like this:
Date
You’re Name
Mailing Address
City, State, Zip
Re: Disputing Inaccuracies on My Credit Report
Name of Credit Reporting Bureau
Mailing Address
City, State, Zip
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing for two (2) reasons:
1. To dispute certain information in my credit file; and
2. To have you investigate/re-investigate and remove inaccurate information from
my Credit Report and prevent its re-insertion. The item(s) I dispute are encircled
on the attached copy of the credit report and further identified by (identify the
items by name of source, such as creditor or tax court, etc. and identify type of
item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.)This item is (inaccurate or
incomplete) because (describe what is inaccurate or incomplete and why). I am
requesting that the item be deleted (or whatever specific change you are
requesting) to correct the information.(If you are enclosing documents such as
copies of cancelled checks, payment records, court documents, send copies
only, you should always retain the originals — and use the following sentence.)
Enclosed are copies of the following documents supporting my position:
1.
2.
3.
Please reinvestigate this (these) matter(s) and (delete or correct) the disputed
items within the time frame required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and
inform me in writing of the outcome. Thank you for your time and consideration in
this matter.
Sincerely,
________________________
(Signature)
Your name
Once the investigation is complete, whether they removed the item or not, the creditor must give you something in writing. If the information was deemed incorrect, then they must remove it, and not put it back on your report.
Step Two
Advise the creditor or other information provider, in writing, that you dispute an item. Be sure to include copies only, not your original supporting your claim. The creditors usually provide an address for disputes. If the creditor reports the items to the 3 credit bureaus, they must include the dispute during the reporting time. If you are correct, the creditor must remove the item from the Bureaus it’s reporting too.
For information on "How to Dispute Credit Report Errors, go to ftc.gov/credit.
The reporting of correct information
When negative information is being reported about you, and it’s accurate the only way it will go away is with time. A consumer credit reporting company can report negative information about you for 7 years and bankruptcies for 10 years. Judgments can be reported for 7 years or until the statue of limitations run out.
Credit Repair Organization Act
By law credit repair companies must give you a copy of the "Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law" before you sign any contract. They must also give you a written contract that specifies your rights and obligations. Read these documents carefully before you sign anything.
Example of what a credit report company cannot do:
v Charge you for anything until services have been completed
v Make false claims about there services
v Provide any services until they have your signature on a written contract and have completed a 3 day waiting period. During this time you may cancel the contract without any fees occurred.
v Payment terms for services rendered, along with total cost
v Detailed description of services you are paying for
v How long it will take to achieve results
v Any guarantees they offer
v Company address and name
Check your Credit Report at least 4 to 5 times a year.
Even if you don’t have poor credit, you need to know what’s on your credit report. Here are some good reasons per the FTC.
v Because the information it contains may affect whether you get a loan and the payment terms for that loan
v Make sure the information is accurate, complete, and up to date before you apply for a mortgage, credit card, car, insurance or even a job.
v To help guard against identity theft
Hopefully this has shed some light on credit repair, and the importance of have a recent copy of your free credit report.
DALLAS
Top 5 Things to Avoid when Fixing your Credit Report
Kimberly Kellish asked:
Repairing your credit report can seem like a daunting task if you try to do so without having the proper knowledge and information you need to get it done effectively and legally. You need to use all the expert resources out there so that when you go to talk with credit agencies, you know your rights, you know what to do and maybe even more importantly, what not to do. If you do the wrong things, you may cause negative items to remain on your credit report when you could have had them removed or re-reported in a more positive light. Creditors can be tricky and without you knowing it, a simple request for more information can turn into a new updated mark on your credit report that will begin another seven year mark on your credit! Beware of such tactics, become an informed consumer and learn that you can fix your credit yourself, effectively as long as you approach the process well prepared.
1. Avoid sending out ALL of your dispute letters to your creditors at once.
This is often done by many “credit repair companies” that are popping up on the internet. They may claim to be helping you, they may even claim to be law firms, but always do you research so you know what type of company you are dealing with. Sending out multiple complaints at once will “Red Flag” your account. What this means is that credit companies will see that you have multiple complaints all at once and therefore just assume you are frivolously attempting to change your credit report with no true grounds to do so. This may be done accidentally, by not being aware that this would happen, but once your report has been red flagged, you have caused an up hill battle to fix errors on your report, it will take twice the work to convince them that your claims are real and you may become so frustrated over their stall tactics, you may give up before you really get started.
2. Never submit a statement to a creditor to prove your side of the case.
This may seem like an easy solution, ‘Here’s my statement, now fix it on my credit report” but this tactic by the creditors can backfire on you. Upon you submitting you statement you are also confirming the account, if the item doesn’t get removed, you may then have to begin your 7 year negative mark on your credit report all over again. Credit agency’s have many of these tactics that sound good to a uniformed consumer, but in the end they are only working towards their advantage, don’t fall into their taps!
3. Dispute the accuracy not the validity.
When talking with the creditor to get an item removed don’t simply say “It’s not mine”. This give s the creditor an easy out to keep your item on your report. You want to approach it more in a way that you are disputing an inaccurate component. By saying it is simply “it’s not mine”, a creditor can easily confirm an account as truly being your credit. If you approach it as an inaccuracy, there will be more information they need to verify and the likelihood of being able to verify the smaller details will be much harder for them to do. This can in turn help you to get the item removed or at least be re-reported in a more positive manner.
4. Don’t attempt to create a separate credit identity to get around your flawed credit report.
There are many credit repair companies out there that will suggest you try to backdoor the system by getting a separate tax id number to begin a new credit report. This method is not only unethical, it is illegal! The idea is out there to get a corporate tax id number so that you can in turn use that tax id number to gain personal credit. This is not the best course of action because it is fraudulent to use a corporate tax id number to gain personal credit. Plus corporate tax id numbers are different from personal social security numbers and are easily picked up by the creditor. To get around this some firms will tell you to continuously apply for tax id numbers until you get one that resembles a legitimate social security number. This is fraudulent behavior and is illegal.
5. Don’t be belligerent!
Credit bureaus are bureaucracies, but you still have real people looking at your dispute letters. If you just rant and rave about how this is an injustice and call them nasty names you will get nothing accomplished and the checker will most likely just disregard the letter as frivolous or irrelevant. Mistakes happen and be understanding to that and frame the situation as nicely as possible, you do catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. We know how easy it is to lose your temper to a big company that seems to not care, but reframe from this behavior as it will get you no where.
These five ideas are just to start making you think and become more aware of how to repair your credit most effectively. In today day you are surrounded with lots of information to help you through this process in the simplest manner possible. Creditrepairplan.com will show you a step by step process of how to get your credit repair done in a manner that will not have you ready to pull your hair out. Their sample dispute letters, easy organization and negotiating techniques will help you approach creditors with confidence and the knowledge you need to get the job done!
Kimberly Kellish has been involved in the financial market for years. She has taken her years of knoweldge and community involvement and begun a campaign to empower the consumer by educating them about financial issues so they will be able to make more informed decisions about the financial future!
MAJOR
Repairing your credit report can seem like a daunting task if you try to do so without having the proper knowledge and information you need to get it done effectively and legally. You need to use all the expert resources out there so that when you go to talk with credit agencies, you know your rights, you know what to do and maybe even more importantly, what not to do. If you do the wrong things, you may cause negative items to remain on your credit report when you could have had them removed or re-reported in a more positive light. Creditors can be tricky and without you knowing it, a simple request for more information can turn into a new updated mark on your credit report that will begin another seven year mark on your credit! Beware of such tactics, become an informed consumer and learn that you can fix your credit yourself, effectively as long as you approach the process well prepared.
1. Avoid sending out ALL of your dispute letters to your creditors at once.
This is often done by many “credit repair companies” that are popping up on the internet. They may claim to be helping you, they may even claim to be law firms, but always do you research so you know what type of company you are dealing with. Sending out multiple complaints at once will “Red Flag” your account. What this means is that credit companies will see that you have multiple complaints all at once and therefore just assume you are frivolously attempting to change your credit report with no true grounds to do so. This may be done accidentally, by not being aware that this would happen, but once your report has been red flagged, you have caused an up hill battle to fix errors on your report, it will take twice the work to convince them that your claims are real and you may become so frustrated over their stall tactics, you may give up before you really get started.
2. Never submit a statement to a creditor to prove your side of the case.
This may seem like an easy solution, ‘Here’s my statement, now fix it on my credit report” but this tactic by the creditors can backfire on you. Upon you submitting you statement you are also confirming the account, if the item doesn’t get removed, you may then have to begin your 7 year negative mark on your credit report all over again. Credit agency’s have many of these tactics that sound good to a uniformed consumer, but in the end they are only working towards their advantage, don’t fall into their taps!
3. Dispute the accuracy not the validity.
When talking with the creditor to get an item removed don’t simply say “It’s not mine”. This give s the creditor an easy out to keep your item on your report. You want to approach it more in a way that you are disputing an inaccurate component. By saying it is simply “it’s not mine”, a creditor can easily confirm an account as truly being your credit. If you approach it as an inaccuracy, there will be more information they need to verify and the likelihood of being able to verify the smaller details will be much harder for them to do. This can in turn help you to get the item removed or at least be re-reported in a more positive manner.
4. Don’t attempt to create a separate credit identity to get around your flawed credit report.
There are many credit repair companies out there that will suggest you try to backdoor the system by getting a separate tax id number to begin a new credit report. This method is not only unethical, it is illegal! The idea is out there to get a corporate tax id number so that you can in turn use that tax id number to gain personal credit. This is not the best course of action because it is fraudulent to use a corporate tax id number to gain personal credit. Plus corporate tax id numbers are different from personal social security numbers and are easily picked up by the creditor. To get around this some firms will tell you to continuously apply for tax id numbers until you get one that resembles a legitimate social security number. This is fraudulent behavior and is illegal.
5. Don’t be belligerent!
Credit bureaus are bureaucracies, but you still have real people looking at your dispute letters. If you just rant and rave about how this is an injustice and call them nasty names you will get nothing accomplished and the checker will most likely just disregard the letter as frivolous or irrelevant. Mistakes happen and be understanding to that and frame the situation as nicely as possible, you do catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. We know how easy it is to lose your temper to a big company that seems to not care, but reframe from this behavior as it will get you no where.
These five ideas are just to start making you think and become more aware of how to repair your credit most effectively. In today day you are surrounded with lots of information to help you through this process in the simplest manner possible. Creditrepairplan.com will show you a step by step process of how to get your credit repair done in a manner that will not have you ready to pull your hair out. Their sample dispute letters, easy organization and negotiating techniques will help you approach creditors with confidence and the knowledge you need to get the job done!
Kimberly Kellish has been involved in the financial market for years. She has taken her years of knoweldge and community involvement and begun a campaign to empower the consumer by educating them about financial issues so they will be able to make more informed decisions about the financial future!
MAJOR