Basic Credit Repair Steps

[CreditDetailer]

If you are just starting to think about credit repair......here are a
few of the basic first steps to get you going.

1. Opt Out of telemarketing.
This is a very important step when repairing. This will keep you
somewhat hidden from collection agencies and stop all promotional
inquiries on your reports. You can opt out temporarily or permanently
(and you can always opt back in if you choose).
Go to: www.optoutpresceen.com

2. Order your reports from Experian, Transunion, and Equifax (It will
cost around $10 each report), however, you can see EXACTLY what is on
your reports. (You can always do third party monitoring later but
those reports don't always show all of the details you will need to
see). *If you cannot afford to buy your reports, you can always get
your free annual report from www.annualcreditreport.com, but if you
dispute with these, the investigation can take 45 days (+5 days for
mail) instead of the normal 30 day(+5 days) investigation. This can
possibly lessen your chances for a deletion.

3. Update and delete personal information on your reports. Make sure
your address is current. Dispute any name variations, old
addresses, SS # variations, employment information and/or phone
numbers. Basically get as much personal info deleted as possible.
It
only enables them to identify you more easily.........which makes it
easier for them to verify disputed debts.

4. Wait for steps #1 and #3 to be completed. Opting out takes about
2-3 weeks and disputing the personal info could
take up to 30 days. While you are waiting on this you can start
reading up on your state laws, the Fair Debt Collections Practices
Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act and Fair credit billing
Act.........and
of course read the posts here on the board and feel free to post
questions if you have any.

5. Review and organize your reports.
Now you need to figure out your plan of attack. Find out which debts
are out of your state's Statutes Of Limitations first. Mark those as
the best ones to start off with. These are the debts being reported
that can no longer be collected on (i.e. you cannot be sued) and
considered "obsolete". You can dispute a few at a time (recommended)
or you can do a blanket dispute which just means to dispute
EVERYTHING
and see what falls off (some have actually had luck with this). But
remember, don't do anything foolish like dispute accurate items along
with inaccurate items. That is illegal and also you will ruin your
chances of getting truly inaccurate and obsolete items off.

6. Save EVERYTHING!
Make sure to have a file to save everything you send and receive from
the credit agencies.
You may even need to save this for several years. (Many times an
account can be mistakenly sold to another company and they could
place
it on your report. You will need the prior proof of removal to get
this removed quickly.

7. Keep learning
Keep reading and keep learning! Credit repair is not difficult but
it
can be overwhleming. The more you read, the more you will understand
and empower yourself.

You have rights that protect you from being a victim of the
carelessness of credit repair companies. Be sure to exercise your
rights!