Self Credit Repair: Tips and Suggestions

Before you embark on the journey of self credit repair, you will need several things. The most important is education. The best place to start is probably the Federal Trade Commission. They provide consumer information on credit issues and advice on where to go for help. This is probably a good place to mention that self credit repair is not possible until "credit issues" have been resolved. If you are behind on, or having trouble making payments, then you may need credit counseling, but not credit repair. If you have had problems paying your bills in the past and those problems are now behind you, but your credit rating has been damaged, then you may need credit repair, but not credit counseling. The non-profit Consumer Credit Counseling Services available in most cities are the best, most reasonably priced credit and budget counseling services, but they cannot help you repair your credit. There is no non-profit credit repair service, which is why there are so many do it your self credit repair programs and so many credit repair companies.

Credit repair companies simply do the work for you. In some cases, they may be able to achieve better results that you can on your own. A self credit repair program is not particularly costly, but can be time consuming and ineffective. Some credit repair companies can be very costly, but they may save you some time. If you are trying to repair your credit quickly, because you are tired of paying high interest rates or because you have been denied credit, then you may want to consider a credit repair company.

The first thing that you will need for any self credit repair program is copies of your credit reports. There are three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and a number of smaller credit reporting agencies throughout the country. If you are attempting self credit repair, you may want to start with one of the three majors. You can view and print a copy of your credit report from any of the three major credit bureaus at http://www.annualcreditreport.com/. You are entitled to one free copy per year from each of the bureaus. You must pay for subsequent copies. As you are working your way through self credit repair, you will need several copies.

You will need a yellow highlighter for the first step of your self credit repair program. As you are looking at your credit report, highlight any information that is inaccurate, outdated or questionable. You will need to report any inaccuracies to the credit bureau, either in writing or on-line depending on the bureau. The credit bureau has 30 days to investigate. If they need more information, they will contact you. Once they have the additional information, they have another 30 days to investigate. Which brings us to another self credit repair necessity; patience. You will need patience to write these letters and wait for results. It is at this point that many people give up on credit repair entirely. Some people just give up on self credit repair and turn to a credit repair specialist for help.

Time, copies of your credit reports, a yellow high lighter and patience. These are the only things that you really need to begin a self credit repair program. You do not need expensive "do it your self credit repair software". These software programs mainly consist of copies of form letters for you to send to the credit bureaus and the information that you have just read. If you have decided after reading the self credit repair requirements that there are some things that you do not have (like time and patience, yellow highlighters are pretty easy to come by), then you may want to consider a credit repair company.

The FTC warns consumers to avoid companies that claim to be able to achieve results in very short periods of time. One company advertises that they "may" be able to increase your credit score by "as much as" 100 points in "as little as" fifteen days. That is highly unlikely. It is true that a reputable credit repair company can achieve faster results than self credit repair, but they will be perfectly honest about the "30 days to investigate rule". For more information about self credit repair, visit the Credit Repair Blog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/206024

How to Raise Your Credit Score 100 Points By Christmas

If you are one of the millions of people who needs to restore their credit score in time for the holidays, this article was written with YOU in mind! According to a recent survey done by one of the major polling companies, no less than 2 out of 3 American consumers now has at least ONE blemish on their credit file. And in most cases, that blemish is big enough, and black enough to cause that consumer to be denied credit, housing, insurance or employment. (if you said OUCH......you are NOT alone!)

In some ways, this is both good news, and bad news alike.

It's bad news, because so many people are struggling and suffering with bad credit, that the whole economy has been brought down as a result.

But, and this is somewhat controversial to say but true none the less.......it's GOOD news because if you are on of the millions who does have a sub par credit score, you are in good company, and most creditors now need to "grade on a curve" as a result. (in other words, with so many people in the same boat, it's impossible to apply the same scoring standards that were common just a few short years ago)

With that being said, here is exactly how I improved my credit score by 100 points in under 45 days, and how you can do the same if you start today, just in time for the holiday season.

What to do FIRST:

- Get copies of your reports. Make sure to get all 3 reports, and scores, from each of the major credit bureaus. (Experian/Equifax and Transunion)

- Evaluate your report by contrasting the information on each report, and look for obvious discrepancies. Dates, amounts and even names of creditors are a really great place to start, as you'll often see glaring differences between how each item is being reported on each file.

Remember - if each credit agency has a different date of delinquency associated with the same underlying item, or has a different balance due, or different original creditor, etc.....these are SUPER simple signs that the items are NOT 100% accurate, and you are legally within your rights to dispute these delinquencies with vim, vigor and the full force of the law.

- Prioritize all negative items in the order of how severe they are. In general, public record items are MOST severe, and things like inquiries, or older 30 day late's, etc.....are the LEAST harmful to your credit score.

- Send out your disputes, once you have identified the worst offenders on each report. Remember NOT to dispute everything at once, and formulate a plan for not only your first round of letters, but also for your second round as well. (this is especially important if you have many negative items - I don't recommend challenging more than 5 things, per bureau, per dispute)

- Send your letters out by certified mail, so you have a record of when they were received.

- Wait! This is often the hardest part. The good news is, you SHOULD get your first batch of results back in about 30-35 days, and if you did your job right, you SHOULD see a dramatic improvement in your credit score.

The last step? Rinse, wash and repeat. The quantity of challenges you need to file will depend on the volume of negative items you have, and of course, how successful you are with each challenge you send!

The good news is, this is the EXACT strategy I used to improve my own credit score by over 100 points in under 40 days, and it's also the exact system most credit repair professionals employ for their clients as well.

Absorb it, apply it and ENJOY the rapid results!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6674687