Clean Credit? Improve Credit? Rebuild Credit? How?

Many people ask, “how can I get Clean Credit, Improve Credit or Rebuild Credit?”

Many people believe that they can’t get clean credit or even improve credit on their own.  They feel that going to a credit repair agency is their only option.  This is false.  I won’t ever say that it is ‘easy’ to do-it does require time, it requires you to be active and keep good records and follow through but if you take it one step at a time, it is not overwhelming and you will feel a huge sense of accomplishment when you see things falling off your report and your credit score going up.  To improve your credit score, on your own, is a very powerful feeling. You’ve been in a bad place and now is the time to start the rebuild credit process and start fresh!

For more detailed information see the previous post on pulling your credit report and credit disputes. And this previous post on how to improve credit.

There are far too many steps to list on one post so I’ll focus on credit disputes. Once you have your credit reports  (see link above for details on where to get them) in hand, it is time to begin.  You really should prepare yourself for the process.  Depending on how much credit repair you need to do, you need to have either one binder with dividers for the three CRA’s (credit reporting agencies) or a binder per CRA.  You will want to copy or print two copies of your credit report so you can make notes on the copy and keep one untouched.  Every single letter you send out should be placed in the binder as well as any notes you make about issues on your credit report.  Every bit of correspondence that is mailed back to you should be placed in the binder.  You will forget steps you have made so you need this information all contained.

The second thing you need is patience.  To clean and improve your credit it takes time and the 30 days the CRA has to give the lenders to respond to your dispute will seem like it is a year.  Just think of all the months that have passed with poor credit and now you are taking the steps to rebuild your credit. While it seems like you aren’t doing anything… things are happening in the background.

Now there are two theories on disputing. Some people believe you should dispute everything-even if you know it is your account/issue.  They believe that they are one side of the equation and the lender can verify the account is reporting accurately and then the tradeline stays on your report  or if they fail to respond within the 30 days, it is their issue-they had their chance and now it comes off your report.   The other theory is if you know it is your debt, then man up and take care of it.  I’ll leave you to which viewpoint you subscribe to.

When you send your letter for the credit dispute, you can make it very simple.

My name is xyz, my address is xyz, my date of birth is xyz.  Credit report # is xyz.  (It is optional to include a copy of your Drivers License but know that you may get a request back asking you to provide it)

I am disputing the following items listed on my credit report as they are not mine:

Item 1: list account information as shown on report.

Item 2:

Now when you get the letter back from the CRA with the list of items they updated or deleted, you can dispute again, for a different reason but it is possible you may get a letter back saying ‘already verified’.  The success of a 2^nd dispute varies but it is always worth a try-especially if you know the item is reporting incorrectly.

More steps to improve and clean your credit will be coming.  There are many steps you can take to rebuild your credit and credit disputes is just the beginning.  Shortly you will have the answer to “Can I Clean Credit, Improve Credit or Rebuild Credit?”  YES YOU CAN!

TaTa