When trying to delete negative/incorrect items from your credit report, should I send a dispute letter for...?

Question

each item seperate or do them all in one letter? I know I need to send to all 3 bureaus seperately.

Answer 1

When disputing inaccurate info from your reports, it's best to use reports that you purchase from each CRA.
Don't use the tri-merge reports since there are times they are inaccurate to begin with.
If you use the free FACTA reports the CRA's have an extra 15 days to investigate your dispute. Which could mean the difference in a negative remaining instead of being removed.

Be very sure that you are past the collecting SOL for you state on any account you dispute.

You should start by trying to clear the personal info on your reports - dispute incorrect/old names and address.
There are times where people will see a negative drop off simply from an incorrect/old name or address being removed.

After you clean up the personal info on your reports, you might do a blanket dispute for all of the accounts that have inaccurate info reporting.

After that you should take them on one or two at a time.

I agree with the first poster about "never" purchasing credit repair info.
There are a few very good credit repair discussion boards that do not charge a thing for information, sample letter templates, being able to ask questions and discuss situations, etc.
My favorite "free" site is the last link listed in my profile
You can also find links to the FDCPA, FCRA, etc listed in my profile, you should do some reading on those sites.

Answer 2

So, Stephen....how much money do you make by selling these "kits"? And how is it that this simple kit can do more then one of those credit repair agencies.....and what do they offer that a simple search of the internet can't uncover?

Your claim that credit bureau's toss out letters is a lie. Due to the recent laws passed the last thing they ever want to do is ignore a letter. They have hundreds of people who do nothing but handle them! Now, the "investigation" part is certainly in question....

In other words...save your money and don't waste it on these "kits". There is ample information on the internet on how to properly dispute any info on your credit reports. Start with http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/debt_validation_workflow.shtml and look around their site for sample letters and instructions.

To answer your question though.....the recent changes in the law gives the credit bureau permission to ignore "frivolous" disputes. If you were to send them a dispute letter contesting 15 items at once, it's not really likely that you have that many errors. Unless you supply some documentation they may not investigate it. On the other hand, sending in 15 separate letters can also trigger a frivolous flag.

Do what Echo says.....start by disputing any personal information. This works treat if you recently moved. Get your old addresses removed or corrected.

Then dispute some of the items as "not yours" and point out that the address doesn't match your current address. Sometime this works.

Remember that these guys are not complete idiots....don't make ridiculous dispute claims. But remember that you have the legal right to get any negative information investigated. Don't let them push you around and ignore you.

Answer 3

You can send one letter with all disputes for that credit bureau to that bureau. Or if you recieved your credit report by mail (or if you have a report number on the credit report) you can call the dispute number listed on the credit report. They will note down all of the items disputed and the reasons why and give you a confirmation number over the phone. They have 30 days from the day you call to prove the info correct or delete it from your report. You can do this through all 3 bureaus 1-800 number.

Answer 4

You need the kind of guidance that credit repair offers. Usually companies charge hundreds of dollars to simply pull your credit and send correctly worded dispute letters—this is the key…..people will tell you that you can do this yourself for free but the truth of the matter is that the credit bureaus will throw your letters away or simply reject them. There is an easy to use online kit that will deliver the results you want available for just $19.95 at the source website. A similar kit is being sold via infomercials and radio talk shows for seventy dollars more but they try to solicit you repeatedly for other services after the fact.

Answer 5

I think I would want to send them separately and then handle them each separately so they don't get lost the the shuffle. But.....
Don't try to get them to delete factual information. They can not LEGALLY delete something unless it is incorrect.

In this process, take some time to visit dave ramsey's website....there's a lot of really good information regarding credit, and how to climb out of debt without bankruptcy, debt consolidation loans, credit repair scams, etc. Just good common sense stuff for the REAL person mixed with some humor. Interesting site. Give it a try.....and listen to his radio show for a while (for free at his website). You can pay for his stuff, but he even suggests you borrow his book from the library or listen to his stuff for free so you don't have to spend extra money to get out of debt. Whatever you do....DON'T pay someone to help you get out of debt and work out payment plans for you. You can do that all yourself for free. Best of luck!