CREDIT REPORT REPAIR
I'm going to show you how to repair your own credit report. How to monitor it and how to dispute errors/misinformation on your credit and how to report those who abuse it.
Let's get right to it, shall we?
Monitoring your report yearly.
There are 3 credit bureaus:
1) Experian 1 800 493 1058
Monday - Friday, 9 am to 5 pm in your time zone
P.O. Box 9556, Allen, TX 75013
2) TransUnion Consumer Relations 1 800 916 8800
Monday - Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm in your time zone
PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022-2000
3) Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc 1-800-685-1111
P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374
They do have an online dispute page but you must submit your report number to access the page. They do not make it public.
You are entitled to request FREE a credit report once per year. This is a Federal Law. See www.ftc.gov/credit for more information.
Get your free report here but, GUARD YOUR PRIVACY!
Please be aware of how you arrived at this site. To ensure that you are visiting the legitimate site, type https://www.annualcreditreport.com/
(Notice the "s" on the end of http. This means you are logging into a secure site.) Type this address directly into the address bar on your browser. You will never receive an email directly from the Annual Credit Report Request Service. Never!
Once the reports have been requested, you should receive copies of your report from all 3 credit bureaus over a period of approximately 3 weeks. Information listed on the reports may be different. Credit agencies report to different credit bureaus. You must dispute information with each credit bureau.
You have the right to dispute mistakes on your credit report.
I have given the links above to dispute the incorrect information online. You will need information from the reports you receive to use the online system and verify your identity. You can also dispute mistakes by mail. This takes longer. It still works.
What Can you Dispute?
Personal Information: Mistaken address, names, social security numbers, etc can be disputed.
In general, negative information that is more than 7 years old from date of last activity (10 years for bankruptcies) must be removed from your file.
Adverse or Negative Reports: Bills that have been paid, bills that are not yours, accounts that are old or were covered under bancruptcy, accounts turned over to collection agencies have to be proved by the agency to be valid. A collection agency can continue to report information it has verified as accurate.
When you dispute a claim, the credit bureau sends the collection agency a letter asking for verification. They have 30 days to respond. If they do not respond the claim is removed. If they do respond the credit bureau may request more information.
It can take up to 30-45 days depending on the nature of your dispute and whether the dispute is of information in a credit report other than your FACT Act free annual disclosure report . If the dispute is with information in your FACT Act free annual disclosure report this can take up to 45 days. Otherwise, your dispute should be resolved in 30 days. However, your dispute response may be available prior to 30 days depending on the nature of the dispute and the response time from any creditors that are contacted.
Inquiries: If you have a whole list of unsolicited pre-screened offers for credit on your reports from credit card companies and insurance agencies, call this number to Opt Out:
Junk Mail Opt Our Phone: 1 888 567 8688
This may limit certain valuable offers for lower rate credit cards, etc you get in the mail. (Junk Mail) Think about this before you opt out. Your name will be removed from prescreened lists for 5 years.
How to Report those who abuse your credit/credit report:
This is very important! If you are a victim of identity thief or fraud report it to the credit bureau and law enforcement immediately.
If collection agencies, such as Albuquerque Collection Services in New Mexico, harrass you with unjust collection tactics or refuse to remove false information or reports false information to credit bureaus immediately report them to the
Federal Trade Commssion at: 1 877 382 4357
They will investigate complaints and file lawsuits against abusive agencies and even close them down as needed, but only if we, the consumer, report these abusive agencies.
There are also various state laws that may pertain to credit law rights you have such a security freezes, etc. you may need to check into. You may also leave comments on your credit reports regarding adverse submissions left by others that the credit bureau will not remove.
Ask for a new free credit report yearly and monitor your reports for errors. You can rebuild your credit after negative or adverse reports by building your credit worthiness again. Don't give up. You are worth it.
Dispute any errors, pay off any valid debts. Doing this will increase your credit rating. As time goes by your credit report diminishes, even the good credit so you must use your credit to have credit.
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