How To Write A Credit Repair Letter
A credit repair letter can be a vital tool in your fight against inaccurate and untrue information listed on your credit report. This article looks at how to go about writing such a letter, and explains why you may wish to do so in the first place.
In the current global credit crisis, being approved for a new credit card or personal loan is becoming an extremely difficult task. Credit providers are analyzing consumer credit reports with a fine-toothed comb, and even a small discrepancy can erase your chances of being approved for the credit product.
Rather than simply accepting that your credit score may not be up to scratch, it is strongly advised that anyone who has recently been turned down for a line of credit accesses a copy of their credit report to see where they are going wrong.
All consumer credit reporting agencies in the US are regulated under the terms of the 2003 Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which requires them to provide consumers with a free copy of their own credit report, once every 12 months. You can request this free copy by calling Annual Credit Report on 1-877-322-8228.
Once you have received your credit report, you should make a note of any inaccurate or false information, ready for when you construct your credit repair letter. Even minor items such as an incorrect zip code can have an effect on your credit score, so should not be ignored.
The next step is to write a credit repair letter. This will be a letter to the consumer credit agency in question (usually Experian, Equifax or Trans Union) that details the incorrect information and asks for it to be amended. Although you can pay a credit repair agency to do this for you, with a little time and effort you can also do it yourself.
Within the letter you should firstly list your name and address, your telephone number and your social security number so that the agency can establish who is writing to them. Below this, clearly and concisely list the errors made on your credit report, and the account number that these errors relate to.
You should also enclose proof wherever possible. An example of this could be a credit card statement that shows that a payment was in fact received on time when the credit report has listed that payment as late. Make sure you only send photocopies of the statements, and not the originals, unless otherwise requested.
The next step is to send the credit repair letter to the credit bureau in question. Sending a copy to all three is actually the best advice, as they do not necessarily share information. Keep copies of all correspondence and use registered or certified mail wherever possible.
The credit bureau should then respond to you within 30 days, and inform you that they are starting an investigation. They will ask the credit provider for proof of their own claims, and if they cannot do so, your details should be corrected.
For more about how to create your letter or how file your credit report dispute visit us we will provide you with the step by step process to file an equifax dispute.