Credit Repair, You Can Do it on Your Own!

Do not be fooled with credit repair agencies. You can repair your own credit. A great benefit to repairing you own credit (besides a higher FICO score) is that you have a sense of accomplishment for doing it on your own, and your credit report wont show that you used a credit repair agency.

Credit repair take diligence and some hard work. But if you want to purchase a home, get a credit card, or buy a car, you will need to raise your FICO score.

The higher your FICO score, the lower interest rate you will pay. The lower your FICO score, the higher your interest rate. Companies will see you as a risk for lending if you have a low FICO score.

There are three credit reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. I would suggest going to myfico.com to get a copy of your credit report. Not only will you get an accurate credit report, but you will also get your FICO score for all three agencies. A lot of the "free credit report" sites can give you a fairly accurate credit report, however their FICO is not accurate. It is called FACO, and you can not go by that number. It will give you an idea of the range, but it isn't your true FICO Score.

Once you get your credit report, go over with a fine tooth comb to see what kind of negative marks you have. You want to make sure that there hasn't been any fraudulent activity in your name.

Now that you know what your negative marks are, get the contact information for each company that is reporting your information. You will want to send a certified letter, return receipt requested to each company that is reporting negative credit. Do not ever talk to collection agencies or debt collectors on the phone. You want and need everything in writing.

In your letter, you want to ask for debt validation. This is asking them to prove that the debt is yours.

Once you get the return receipt back from the company, send a letter (certified, return receipt requested) to the credit agency that has the debt listed - may it be Experian, Equifax or Transunion. It could be all three, or it could be just one. Some companies report to all three, others do not. And if you send a letter to Equifax, it will only apply to them. A separate letter is needed for all three agencies.

In this letter to the credit agency you will request that they investigate your inquiry. Maybe the reporting date is wrong, perhaps the amount due is incorrect. Maybe the debt isn't yours at all. Clearly state why you feel that the debt is wrong, or not yours.

When you get the receipt back from the credit agency, you will see when they signed for it. They have 30 days to investigate this and respond to you. If they do not respond, they are breaking federal laws that are in place to protect consumers. This typically results in an automatic deletion of the debt that is being reported.

If the credit agency sends you the investigation results before you hear back from the debtor, the debtor is in violation for confirming the debt BEFORE they prove that the debt is yours. Thisa is another case for automatic deletion, and possibly fines payable to you for the federal violation.

Remember that you will only want to dispute a few items at a time. It can take several months of sending certified letters, but the diligence will pay off.

The internet is a great resource for information. There are tons of websites that can walk you through this process.

You can repair it yourself, without your credit showing that you used the help of a fly-by-night agency.

Good luck on the journey, and remember that it will be worth it when you buy your first house, or that dream car!