The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a federal law, states that a credit bureau must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete , or unverifiable information on your credit history report. This includes information on the 3 major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion)

Initially when a creditor (bank, finance company, credit card company, or any creditor), reports to one or more of the credit bureaus regarding the status of your account this information is not always verified. The 3 credit bureaus simply add it to your credit report which affects your overall credit history and credit score. The FCRA gives you the right to dispute any item on your credit history report.

When an item is disputed it is done so through the 3 major credit bureaus. The credit bureaus then must contact the creditor and verify, that the information is accurate. If the creditor cannot verify, or chooses not to verify this item on your credit history report within 30 days, the FCRA says that it must be removed. There are many reasons why a creditor cannot or chooses not to verify your account information. This process costs the creditor money by having to do the research and then respond to the credit bureaus. They may not choose to pay money for a closed and/or charged-off account. In addition, the account may or may not have been sold to a collection agency. The collection agency may not have the information required to verify the accuracy of the account and therefore cannot properly respond to the dispute.

You can do self credit repair and dispute items on your own by writing a credit report dispute letter to the 3 major credit bureaus or by visiting their websites to attempt online credit disputes. However, whether you write credit report dispute letters or try online credit disputes, this can be a long and frustrating process. You must know which of the 3 credit bureaus, perhaps all 3, have the item listed. Not all creditors report to all 3 credit bureaus. Then you need to know what information to put in the credit report dispute letter. In other words, why are you disputing it? If the item does belong to you, what are your grounds for dispute? Then what if the creditor does respond to the 3 credit bureaus and verify the accuracy of that item? Most people will give up at this point and live with the negative item on their credit history report for 7 to 10 years.

But you don’t have to wait for 7 to 10 years even if the creditor does verify that the item belongs to you. A reputable Credit Risk Assessment Specialist with a good track record of success knows how to investigate items on your behalf and does not give up after one dispute. There are over 2 dozen different dispute codes or reasons for the dispute that can be used. However, the 3 credit bureaus do not publish these codes and only very few are known to the general public. So, if you do not know the right code, or do not attach a code to your dispute, the 3 credit bureaus will assign one to your dispute for you before they send it off to the creditor for verification. However, a solid Credit Risk Assessment Specialist does know the right codes and therefore has a far better success rate in getting items removed than do individuals on their own.

You want to look for a company that has a long track record. Many companies have popped up in the last few years to take advantage of the number of people that want to erase bad credit and need this service. The company should be rated by the Better Business Bureau.

So, you do not have to live with a bad credit history. You do not have to continue to pay excessive interest rates and fees that can ultimately keep you from getting ahead. You can sleep better and walk confidently into a car dealership to buy a new vehicle or apply for a credit card. But you have to make that first step toward getting your credit history report cleaned up to increase your credit score.

Call today to see how Duran Personal Credit can help you improve your credit history report!