Do It Yourself Credit Repair
Do it yourself credit repair is for anyone who has errors or negative information on their credit report! It is without a doubt the most inexpensive way to fix your credit report. However, you will need to be persistent and determined to make true progress! This process takes patients as working with the credit bureaus can be frustrating. The steps to do it yourself credit repair are as follows:
1. Get your tri-mergre credit report
2. Review and list all negative items found on your report
3. Gather your documentation
4. Write dispute letters
5. Mail letters to credit bureaus
6. Document everything you do
7. Wait for response from Credit Bureaus
8. Review the results of your efforts
9. Repeat the process as needed
Step One - Do It Yourself Credit Repair
To begin this process you will need your tri-merge credit report. This report will contain all the information from all three major credit bureaus. It is necessary you use either a tri-merge report or obtain your report from each bureau separately but make sure you have all three. If you don't have all three reports the it is possible you will miss something that needs to be disputed! I personally recommend the tri-merge report because duplicate entries from each bureau are only listed once. True Credit offers a tri-merge report that is easy to read for the average person. Generally speaking, credit reports are written using many codes that must be learned to understand your report. True Credit's Tri-Merge is largely decoded for you.
Online 3-in-1 Credit Report Links
Step Two - Do It Yourself Credit Repair
Once you get your report(s) you will need to analyze the information. Look for all negative listings. Negative listings include the following: Bankruptcy, Foreclosure, Repossession, Charge Off, Court Judgments, Collections, Past due payments, Late Payments. When looking for these listings keep in mind anything else that might not look good. Imagine you are a lender reviewing this report to consider for a loan. What else do you see that might be construed as negative?
As you go through this review process make a list of each item you find and which bureau or bureaus it is being reported from. You will need this information latter!
Step Three - Do It Yourself Credit Repair
The next step is to gather all the documentation you have regarding each item you plan to dispute. For example on a late payment, get your cancelled checks from the bank and see when the check cleared. Was it late? If not you have proof you are now going to include with your dispute. If it was late don't worry you can still dispute the item without supporting documentation! Once you do your creditor will have to prove you were late.
Keep this rule in mind. If the information on your credit report is wrong the more documented proof you can provide the more likely you will get it removed. If the information on your report is correct you can still dispute it and the responsibility of proof will lie on your creditor. Just remember not to included any documentation that will prove the information you are disputing is correct. In other words, if you dispute a late payment on your report, don't include a copy of your cancelled check that was dated after the payment due date!
Step Four - Do It Yourself Credit Repair
Step four of the do it yourself credit repair process is to write your dispute letters. You will need to write a letter to each credit bureau separately and include all the items you are disputing with that bureau.
For each letter include the following information:
• Date
• Your Full Name
• Your Social Security Number
• Date Of Birth
• Your Current Address and Phone Number
• Your Signature
• Full Name of Items you are Disputing
• Account Numbers for the Items you are Disputing
• Reasons for the Dispute of Each Item
• Copies of Any Documentation Supporting Your Disputes
Click here for Sample Do It Yourself Credit Repair Letters
Step Five - Do It Yourself Credit Repair
Once you write your dispute letters you will need to mail them to the three corresponding credit bureaus. The address to mail your disputes to for each bureau are as follows but please call each one first and verify the address.
Equifax Information Services LLC
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374
800-685-1111
Experian
PO Box 949
Allen, TX 75013
888-397-3742
Trans Union
760 West Sproul Road
PO Box 390
Springfield, PA 19064-0390
800-916-8800
Make sure you mail each one via certified mail so you have proof you sent these disputes. Also, make sure you have copies of everything you have sent to them. The key here is complete documentation. If you think your proof won't get lost, think again! It is best to keep yourself a copy.
Step Six - Do It Yourself Credit Repair
This step in the Do It Yourself Credit Repair process is to keep records of everything you do. This sounds easy and it is, but you must do it. Every phone call you make, get names, phone numbers, extensions, date, time, and a record of what was said. Keep copies of everything you mail and receipts for everything you spend in relating to your credit disputes. You will be very happy you have this information when you started getting the run around!
Step Seven - Do It Yourself Credit Repair
Step seven of this process is to wait for a response from the credit bureaus. They have 30 days by law to respond to you. If you don't here from them call and find out what is going on. Remember you have proof you mailed the dispute because you sent it certified.
Step Eight - Do It Yourself Credit Repair
Once you do get a response, compare it to your requests. If a change was made to your credit report the bureau will include an updated copy of your credit report. Is the change to your satisfaction? Did you get what you asked for? Or was nothing changed? If you got everything you asked for, great your done! If not, move on to step nine.
Step Nine - Do It Yourself Credit Repair
If after your efforts you didn't get everything you asked for and more than likely this is the case. Then you need to start over and repeat the process. Fortunately, you can dispute items as many times as you want at no charge. So, get going and good luck in your efforts.
Of coarse, if this whole process seems to be a little much, you could always have it done for you! Again, I recommend Lexington Law for the best credit repair services.
Lexington Law - Credit Report Repair
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