Fixing a bad credit report is synonymous with repairing bad credit because your credit report is a reflection of your credit history. Also, your credit report is what most credit and lending institutions will review when making decisions concerning any credit you might be seeking.
The following steps can be used to fix bad credit and, thus, bad credit reports. You should understand that repairing credit is a process which takes time and knowledge of how to deal with credit bureaus and creditors.
Correct Credit Report Errors
The easiest task to tackle when repairing a bad credit report is to correct clerical mistakes such as misspellings, incorrect addresses, out of date information, etc.
These can be corrected by writing a letter to the credit bureaus asking them correct the mistakes. Copies of validating documentation should also be included.
Eliminate Late Payments, Charge-Offs and Collection Accounts
Late payment items can be eliminated by becoming current on your accounts. Once payments are up-to-date, contact creditors and ask them to remove the late payment items from your report.
Charge-offs and collection items normally can only be removed by negotiating with the original creditor. They will often agree to remove such items from your credit report in exchange for payment or partial payment on the accounts.
Concerning Judgments, Tax Liens, Bankruptcy and Foreclosure
Judgments, tax liens, bankruptcies and foreclosures are very difficult to remove from credit reports because they are official court rulings which are legitimate credit report items. Usually, these items will stay on your credit report until they reach their statute of limitations which is 7 years for judgments and foreclosures, 10 years for bankruptcies and 15 years for tax liens.
However, sometimes mistakes are made and wrong information is posted to your report, or courthouses are not organized and cannot meet the required 30 day validation timeline outlined under the Fair Credit Reporting Act in which cases these items can be removed.
Request Professional Help
Although credit repair is possible to accomplish yourself, the process can be quite lengthy and there is a great deal of knowledge needed to effectively deal with credit bureaus and creditors looking to retrieve debts. If handled incorrectly, credit bureaus may tag your account as “frivolous” and creditors may send your account to a collection agency or opt to sue.
If you have an extensive bad credit history, you may be benefited by requesting professional credit repair assistance. Tap into a network of experienced credit repair attorneys at Repair-Credit-Today.com and put the expertise of legal knowledge to work for you.