Insurance and Credit

You are loosing money while you read this. Your creditors are laughing all the way to the bank. Because you have a low Credit Score you are paying more in interest rates, and god knows what additional fees are being tacked on.

Before we begin allow me to give you a word to the wise. Unless you are prepared to spend hundreds of dollars to boost your credit score prepare to do it yourself. It’s no where near as difficult as some would want you to believe.

Before we go to battle we must prepare. You will need to prepare by arming yourself with a copy of the “Fair Credit Billing Act” most commonly referred to as FCBA. All you have to do to get a copy is do a Google search. Once you have located it print it and keep it near by. Your going to need it.

After you have at least read over the FCBA it’s time to get a copy of your credit report. There are numerous sources where you can get your credit report online, however I highly recommend that you mail in and request your report. This creates a paper trail that you may very well need on down the road.

Highlight the negative items on your credit report and collect any proof to support your claims. Once you have completed that step, it’s time to write your letters of dispute and send them in to the credit bureaus.

If 30 days or more have passed it’s time to contact the bureaus again and make sure that they have honored there end of the bargain. Anything that could not be proven within the 30 days has to be removed from your credit report.

If you follow those simple techniques outlined above you are sure to boost your credit score fast. If you are interested in other techniques and strategies to repair your credit, I recommend getting a credit repair kit and taking action today.

When you mention the words, “Self Credit Repair” most consumers will cringe. This is because of the unscrupulous businesses that have flat out ripped of consumers. These companies have made a living by charging for services that are impossible for them to deliver.

While preparing to write this article, I read numerous books and articles on the subject matter. The majority of them centered on tactics that are extremely outdated. In a nutshell many of the organizations do not have the consumers best interests in mind. I give my students the same advice that my mother gave me – If you want something done right, you must do it yourself.

I don’t expect you to take my mothers advice after all you don’t know here. That’s why I am going to point you in the right direction. Take a few moments to view the website of the “Fare Trade Commission.” They also state that there is nothing that these credit repair agencies can do that we cannot do ourselves.

The credit repair game is won through a series of dispute letters. The majority of credit repair kits will walk you through the process step-by-step. If you have completed all the steps in the credit repair kit and you still do not have the desired results start back at step one.

Why does the media claim that you shouldn’t repair your own credit? Because they don’t benefit from you doing it yourself. I’m not saying that there isn’t situations that call for a credit attorney or an agency. Those situations for the most part are exceptions to the rule – for example when you try to remove a false claim from your credit report. The creditor refuses to remove the item from your credit report. In this situation you will have to take legal action.

In the past seven years I have had to take three creditors to court. I won all three cases (just for the record). I do not recommend that you do this. From my experience most people get nervous once they walk into a court room. For those people I recommend hiring a credit repair attorney.

The most important part of the credit repair process is knowing how to read your credit report. It’s much easier to read your credit report today than it was in the past. Although the credit reporting laws have changed a lot to better help the consumer, the reporting agencies still remain a mystery.

Living in such a high-tech day and age you would think that the credit bureau’s would have some sort of standardize reporting system. But of course they don’t and your credit report can come in a variety of formats. The important thing is you should be able to recognize a few items right off, such as your personal information and your creditors information.

Hands down Experian’s reports are the easiest to read by far. The sections that you should pay close attention to are labeled, “accounts in good standing, and potentially negative.” Don’t be fooled by the word, “potentially.” The items listed under this category are reeking havoc on your credit score.

Another thing that you will want to look out for is the “closed account” status. It doesn’t matter if you or your creditor closed the account the reporting will be the same. It does however make a huge difference if you were the one to close the account. You will want them to show that the account was closed by the consumer. This will make a difference in the way that your credit score is reported.

In some cases you will see “Charge-Off” written on your report. A charge-off is an account that was written off for tax purposes by the creditor. Although the amount may be small it can still make a huge affect on your credit score.

The best way to rebuild your credit rating is to dive in and do it yourself. Stop what you are doing and commit to taking the first step right now… Get a credit repair kit.