Tad MacPherson

Christmas (yes I said the 'C' word -- Ho! Ho! Ho!) is just around the corner and consumer spending is once again at an all time high. For those of you that are struggling from the effects of bad credit the holiday season offers a small window of opportunity which, if acted upon, could open many possibilities for you in the New Year.

People often ask me why the holidays are the best time to repair their credit. Well, I have a theory. In preparation for the flood of holiday credit applications creditors shift gears and temporarily transfer dispute resolution staff to other divisions to handle the unusually high volume of new business. Being that the creditors make much more money increasing their customer base it seems understandable that they justify slacking off in the dispute department for a month or so each year. This temporary trend allows for your disputes to go unanswered which results in the items being deleted.

Another more obvious reason is that the holiday season is a time of vacation, cheer, forgiveness, charity and new beginnings. This combination tips the scales in your favor in a measurable way. It is common knowledge among credit professionals that this time of the year is perfect for disputing credit items on your credit report. The law states that if you dispute something on your credit report the credit bureaus have thirty days in which to verify that the item is valid or remove it. The vision of an understaffed creditor's office with phones ringing off the hook and overworked employees surfing the net for last minute gift comes to mind. Your chances are great.

Now comes the hard part. Where do you start? Allow me to point you in the right direction. While each major credit bureau (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) has online disputing methods we have found them to be more trouble than they are worth, often taking hours to dredge through and providing dismal results when you do. Besides, you want a paper trail and return receipt snail mail is still the only way. What we recommend you do is obtain an inexpensive how to book or even better, an e-book with templates and devote an hour to doing it yourself. We have one featured at our website (link below) that is a 1,2,3, kit designed to have you finished in about an hour.

You may also choose to pay money for a company to assist you. This is also a good option. There are many reputable credit repair companies online. Before you do that and commit to $50 to $100 per month for twelve to eighteen months do yourself a favor and check out how easy it is to do it yourself. Here's to a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Copyright December 2005, yourcreditcures.com, USA

About the author:

Tad MacPherson is a credit specialist with years of experience assisting consumers with repairing, restoring and reestablishing their credit. Get free advice and valuable credit tools at www.yourcreditcures.com .