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Knowing Your Rights Makes Credit Repair Fundamental
Darren McLaughlin
Credit repair is not a complex subject, and anybody of
reasonable intelligence should be able to master the subject
through practice. For this reason it's surprising that some
people don't want to attempt it on their own. Basically credit
repair involves writing dispute letters to the three major
credit reporting agencies. Examples of these letters are
available in books and online, and no professional expertise is
required in writing them. You can easily order any of these
credit reports online and see exactly what information is
contained in them.
The entire process of repairing credit can be distilled into
this: You scan your credit reports for any information you can
dispute. Once you find info that should be removed, you simply
send a dispute letter that asks the credit reporting agency to
validate the infomation within thirty days. If the CRA is unable
to validate the data, the item must be removed. The Fair Credit
Reporting Act ensures you can dispute any and all erroneous
information. If any item can't be confirmed, it must be deleted.
Your greatest asset when repairing your credit is knowledge.
Knowing your rights will ensure that you aren't intimidated or
mislead when dealing with the CRAs. The FCRA was designed to
give you these rights, and knowing he FCRA and how it applies to
you gives you the most leverage. CRAs deal with tens of millions
of consumers, most of whom are ignorant of basic consumer
rights. Informed consumers are a much more formidable opponent.
The FCRA provides you with the following basic rates:
1) You have the right to find out what's in your file. You can
do this by ordering your credit report from any of the 3 major
CRAs. If you were declined in the last 30 days, your copy may be
free, so check the policies of the CRA before paying for a
report.
2) If information in your credit report is used against you, you
must be told. The company that declines you for credit must send
you a written notification of which CRA they used to decide on
your account.
3) You can dispute the information that the CRA has about you.
This is known as the "dispute process".
4) If you find inaccurate information on your report, the CRA
must legally remove it.
5) The information in your credit report is not public knowledge
and cannot be accessed by everyone. Only people with a specific
need can access your file.
6) Certain information on your file requires your consent to be
released, notably your medical information.
7) You can opt-out from having your information re-sold in
certain cases.
8) You have the right to sue FCRA violators for monetary damages
if they're found to be in violation of the FCRA.
All of these rights, especially the last one, give you a very
strong foundation when it comes to dealing with CRAs and debt
collection agencies. Study the FCRA in detail and join a credit
forum where people well-versed in fixing their own credit can
help you. You're not alone in the battle to repair your credit,
and your increase in knowledge about how to do the job can only
result in your success. Keep detailed records of everything you
do to repair your credit. use postage-paid and return receipt
required mail to keep a timestamp of all of your activities. The
CRAs only have 30 days to do an investigation into information
you dispute, so it's up to you to make sure they don't go over
that time allotment. CRAs and debt collection agencies have been
shown to have cavalier attitudes about the data on your credit
reports, so it's up to you to make sure you keep them honest.
Many people experience great results within six months of
repairing their credit, so just stick with your plan, take your
time, and your score will be soaring in no time.
About the author:
Please visit the Credit
Reports Resource Center for more information on the DIY Credit
Repair
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