Is Credit Repair Real?

Credit repair, is it really possible?

The fair credit act allows us, as consumers, to dispute inaccurate and incorrect entries on our credit reports. This has led to thousands of people to request investigations of negative entries on their credit report. This is the basis of any credit repair program or service that is widely offered online and offline.

When a consumer disputes a negative entry on their report, credit agencies are required by law to investigate it thoroughly and delete the entry if insufficient evidence is provided by the creditor who placed the negative entry. Having negative entries deleted from a credit report can increase a consumer's score dramatically if they have some accounts that are in good standing.

Examples of credit disputes:

Negative entries on your credit report can be a result of many things such as identity theft or just plain negligence on your part in failing to pay your bills on time. In both cases, consumers have successfully deleted negative entries from their reports.

In the case of an identity theft, the credit agency will request creditors for evidence of the account information including addresses and signatures. They will compare these with the consumer's actual address and signature. In identity theft cases, the negative entries are normally deleted without any further investigation if the entries are undeniable such as an address in Calorado when the consumer lives in California.

Other known cases include old or out dated debts that a consumer has not paid. In these cases, the credit agency is still required to investigate. Creditors have a poor habbit of record keeping and many of them will be unable to provide the evidence that is requested by the credit agency. These debts are usually bought and sold over and over by so many different collection companies that it will be nearly impossible for them to trace it back to the consumer. These negative entries are also usually deleted upon completing an investigation.

Some investigations require more information:

In some cases where the credit agency requests more information from the consumer or determined that the debt is a valid one, consumers are allowed to appeal that decision. In these cases, although rare, consumers can write a letter of appeal to restart the investigation process and include any further evidence that he or she may have.

The bottom line of credit repair:

Once the disputes have been investigated and a decision has been made, any entry on your credit report that was not verified by the creditor will be deleted. This will result in an increase of your credit score, and in a sense, a repaired credit.

To learn more about credit repair and your rights as a consumer, please go to: Credit Repair.

Kao Saephan

Phanweb Marketing