Can the negatives ever be removed from a credit file before the 7 or 10 years required by credit bureaus?

Yes, they can, and for several reasons.

If there are duplicate accounts on your file, these must be removed by the credit bureaus. However, the burden of proof is on your shoulders, not the credit bureaus; at least this is what the credit bureaus spend millions of dollars a year to make one believe. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that credit bureaus must verify that all information is correct before placing it on your credit file; alas, they do not do this and it is because of this failing that you have the opportunity to get negative items removed legally and lawfully off of your credit file.

But it is up to you to do so.

The credit bureaus will not volunteer this service because, in essence, they make billions of dollars a year by keeping negatives on consumers credit files and maintaining The Lie that almost everyone is suspect as a bad or high risk individual. Therefore, it is imperative that creditors use their service to determine credit worthiness. Still, with over 79% of all credit reports having incorrect information in them, one would think that the credit bureaus would do a better job of verifying the information as correct before placing it on a persons credit file.

Not so.

Credit bureaus love the fact that so much bad information is being placed on credit files because it shows that creditors need to pay for the bureau’s services to determine risk before extending credit. Sadly, this could be a good system if the credit bureaus were more responsible in keeping accurate records by verifying. Unfortunately, the verification process used is not accurate as defined by the laws of the United States court system. In a court of law you must show proof of records, signatures and documents that support that the contract is legal. Credit bureaus do NOT do this and therefore mistakes -big mistakes- happen.

Now on to credit repair companies.

Let’s pretend you could actually find a credit repair company that was legitimate and could actually repair your credit. Obviously, this statement hints that it is hard to find a legitimate credit repair company. Well, let me be straight forward: there are so many scams, or ignorant credit repair companies out there that you would do well to do it yourself rather than waste your money on a credit repair company.

Most, if not all, do not know enough about the law, or about credit itself, to do much more than damage your credit further rather than actually doing any good at all.

Let me explain.

If a credit repair company were simply to read this book, they would learn more, just from reading, than all the experience they gained so far in their business. Heaven forbid that they could actually help people by sharing this information rather than attempting to make credit repairs before actually learning what they are doing. Now, to be fair, they do cause people to investigate how to manage their credit better because of the bad experience they have with credit repair companies!

Ok, I admit it, I am dissing these credit repair companies pretty badly. But the good news is (as I have previously stated) there are a few entities that come up to the standards that are required to be an honest, reputable, actually-get-something-done, decent credit repair company.

So-

Let’s put together a list of criteria that should be required for a credit repair company to be worthy of its hire; and let’s do it NOW before you spend that hard-earned money, learning the hard-earned way that it wasn’t worth it.

Ok, let’s get started.

A legitimate credit repair company actually has your best interests at heart. In other words, they have an honest service for an honest and fair price; there is actually value for the dollars you pay. This also includes a service that does not take forever, but gets things done in a relatively short period of time. Of course this is really is relative because the laws of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other laws give the credit bureaus 30 days to investigate a dispute and then formulate a response and send it by mail to you.

Still, if you do the work yourself, i.e. dispute a negative on your credit report and send in a dispute form, the credit bureaus will receive the dispute, digitize it, then send it to a foreign country where underpaid workers will investigate and determine if the dispute is valid or not. Then, whether on a whim or based upon information they receive to validate the claim, the item will be deleted, undated, verified, or found to be a frivolous dispute. It’s a crapshoot based on luck.

A legitimate credit repair company will dispute all negatives on your credit report for verification by the credit bureaus and also place the dispute on legal letterhead because a bonafide attorney is actually doing the work. A legitimate credit repair company will request, as per the law, verification the information and then return it after the 30-day investigation with an updated credit report as stated in the law.

Then, if negatives are not removed by the credit bureaus because they are trying to state that the information is verified and  accurate, the attorneys will then go after the credit bureaus with allegations of defying the law and not correctly verifying information. The attorney will then demand that such items be removed or a lawsuit will be filed against the credit bureau. When one gets  an attorney on their side, one who actually knows what they are doing, results happen. Also, a good credit repair company will have a warranty that gives you options if they do not perform and do it without being hassled to death.

In addition, look for a company that can show a history of success with something like 127 point increase on average in about 6 months. Also look for years of being in business, knowing the law and studying the court cases against these credit bureaus. My suggestion is to look for at least 10 years of experience; closer to 20 should show excellent business history and consumer satisfaction.

It is absolutely imperative that you investigate a credit repair company for these criteria; if not, you are wasting your valuable money on foolish attempts to get something done by people who know little or nothing about the law, and/or the ways to actually get something done for your credit file and credit scores. A good credit repair company will teach the secrets of how to obtain great credit scores by managing the credit you already have and showing how to establish good credit.

Let’s recap the criteria for a good credit repair company:

• Uses attorneys to perform services
• Has a fair price for services rendered.
• Takes a minimal amount of time to perform services
• Disputes all negatives on the credit report at the same time.
• Offers a great warranty that shows honesty of services offered.
• Shows history of negatives removed and scores being increased.
• Teaches people how to manage credit to better their credit scores.
• Has a history of experience and a dedication to credit repair as sole business
• Has many offices nationwide to show trust by consumers to refer their friends.

If you can find a company with these criteria then you will find a company that will do more for your credit scores than anything you can possibly do on your own.

A personal note: After doing credit repair professionally for well over 12 years, I have found that I can not do what attorneys can do, such as getting negatives removed off of credit reports and gaining credit scores, with sufficient speed and accuracy. A good attorney can get this kind of work done in less than half the time I can do it in. Because of this, I have given up credit repair and have gone on to teaching people how to increase their credit scores by managing the credit they already have and/or establishing good credit into great credit.

Remember that credit is money.

-Benjamin Franklin-

No man’s credit is ever as good as his money.

-Edgar Watson Howe-

Herschel here again…

In the previous blog, I shared a little bit about the seemingly ‘all-powerful’ credit bureaus …  and why they’re not too excited about removing negative or incorrect items from your report.

If you’ve ever tried to fight this battle on your own, you know what I’m talking about, right?

Here’s a little bit more, and how to put the law on your side of the credit playing field for once…

Did You Know?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) receives more complaints against credit bureaus than ANY other type of business.  (Yes, they are a business, not a government agency like some believe)

In fact, in February of 2000, the three major credit bureaus paid a fine of $2.5 million for ignoring consumers’ requests for their files!

Here’s More Startling News …

79% of all credit reports contain errors.

29% of credit reports contain serious errors, false delinquencies or accounts that did not belong to the consumer.

20% of credit reports were missing major credit, loan, mortgage or other information to demonstrate the credit worthiness of the consumer.

26% of credit reports contain accounts that were closed by the consumer, but incorrectly listed as “closed by credit grantor.”

41% of credit reports contain demographic information that was misspelled, outdated or incorrect.

(by the way, you can get a copy of the research report that proves these facts from us by calling toll free 1-877-720-PLUS (7587), there’s no obligation).

Contrary to Popular Belief, Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) Are NOT Government Agencies…

The credit reporting bureaus are publicly traded “for profit” companies.  They, like all publicly traded companies, are in business to make money for their stockholders…period.

But that alone is not the scary part…

Some of their biggest customers are credit card companies and predatory lenders, who BUY their lists of people with less than perfect credit so they can prey upon them, with HIGH interest offers.

But, due to the startling statistics we just revealed, they are heavily regulated … one of the MOST heavily regulated companies in fact.

So what can you do about all of this?

Know Your Legal Rights …

Congress has given you rights that the credit reporting agencies (CRAs) really hoped you wouldn’t know.

We all know that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, right?  And, if accused of a crime, the burden of proof lies with the accuser.  But, with the credit-reporting agencies, it appears this is not so.

However, they are only a repository of anything and everything that creditors report to them.

And here’s the surprising fact about CRA’s…

They have no economic reason to ensure the accuracy of the information reported to them.  And, in fact, they have every economic reason not to at all.

They are only powerful because most consumers don’t know how to wrestle with them.

In fact, Congress set up provisions to allow consumers (you) the right to CHALLENGE information that is deemed to be inaccurate.  And you can also challenge information that is not properly validated.

In the next email, I will reveal once and for all why the Credit Reporting Agencies actually seem not to care about this information as much as consumers think…and what you can do to immediately begin the process of information removal.

Until next time…why not get your free credit repair consultation?  It’s as simple as filling out a form online (securely)…and then waiting for a call from one of our credit specialists.

Go to http://www.vantageca.com/free-consultation

to schedule your free credit consultation today (no high-pressure sales, and no obligation).

Sincerely,

Herschel Bentley

There are several ways that your credit rating can be adversely affected.

Many times the items being reported to your credit bureau may be inaccurate. To help consumers protect their credit bureau reports, there are federal laws that can help in disputing negative items and restoring a consumer’s good name. Two of these laws are The FCRA and FACTA.

The FCRA is short for the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FCRA protects you as a consumer in the event erroneous information is placed on your report by holding the credit agencies responsible for reporting accurate information. The FCRA, passed in 1970, provides consumers with certain protections which include the ability to request a copy of your credit report, dispute negative items on your report, and notification if a removed item has been re-entered into a consumers report. The list I have provided is a few of many rights that a consumer has under The Fair Credit Reporting Act.  To take advantage the Fair Credit Reporting Act it is important to stay on top or your credit rating by monitoring your credit on a consistent basis.

FACTA also known as Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act holds credit organization responsible for the way a consumer’s information is handled. This law was put in place to curve the rise of identity theft. The guidelines set by FACTA ensure that certain documents such as personal information are shredded by any organization that handles sensitive personal information.  FACTA also allows consumers the right to receive at least one free credit report per year.  In some states like Georgia the limit is 2 free reports per year.

These two important acts were put in place to give consumers a course of action to take in the event their credit information is ever compromised.  Surprisingly many people are not aware of these laws place in the books to protect them. Taking advantage of FCRA and FACTA is as simple as getting a free copy of your credit report.  If you have been a victim of Identity fraud and or you are having trouble disputing items on your credit report, you may want to review these acts to understand your rights.  Another option is to hire a reputable credit attorney to work in your favor to take advantage of your rights under the guidelines of these laws.

Ignorance of the law is not an excuse, especially when the law was put in place to aid and assist you.  To minimize your risk and maximize your safety, you should educate yourself on the benefits of the FCRA and FACTA.  It is also a wise decision to keep some form of identity protection and credit monitoring service.