How to Repair Your Credit: Legally Fix Your Credit File and Improve Your Credit Score WITHOUT Being Scammed

How to Legally Improve Your Credit Score in 30 Days or Less......Starting Today!

Is your credit file full of embarrassing and negative information?

Has the financial train wreck of the last few years destroyed your credit score, ruined your good name and made the process of applying for new credit a nightmare?

The truth is, if your credit has suffered over the last few years.......the good news is, you are NOT alone.

As a matter of fact, according to some surveys, up to 70% of Americans have at least one derogatory item on our credit file, and in most cases.....that item is bad enough to result in being denied new credit as a result.

And if you are anything like I used to be.....searching for legitimate ways to fix, repair and restore your credit can feel like a full time job in of itself.

After all, with so many crazy promises out there, and so many credit offers that sound too good to be true, it's easy to get scammed, snookered and taken advantage of by unethical credit repair companies who promise the world....and then deliver nothing but disappointment.

With that being said, I'm going to do 2 very specific things below.

1. First, I'm going to explain to you EXACTLY how legal credit repair works, and tell you exactly what you need to know to fix your credit file by yourself.



And then



2. I'm going to tell you exactly what to look for in a credit repair company, clinic or lawyer, so that if you decide to go that route and hire a professional, you know exactly what to expect, and what sorts of results you should get. (and how long it should take as well)

The good news is, regardless of what you may have read otherwise, you CAN fix your credit with a little bit of effort, you CAN dramatically improve your credit score within 30-90 days and you CAN do all of this totally legally, (no funny stuff, silly shenanigans or weirdness at all)

Credit repair is actually your RIGHT, and no matter how much the powerful banks, credit agencies or lobbyists try to convince you otherwise, you are FULLY within your legal rights to either attempt to restore your credit score yourself, or hire an outside professional to do it for you. PERIOD. (end of story)

Okay. Ready for the process?

I'm going to explain it to you below.....and this is EXACTLY what you need to know to improve your credit file by yourself, without spending a dime on outside help or professional counsel.

Step 1 - Get a Copy of All 3 Credit Reports.

You can actually go to CreditKeeper.Com and get copies of all 3 of your credit reports for FREE.

They have a 30 day free trial, which allows you to access your reports online for a full month, and then pay a small fee thereafter if you want to continue to have online access. (it's not necessary to keep your free trial open for longer than 30 days.....some people enjoy having 24 hour ongoing access to their reports at all times, others only need to get them once)

Step 2 - Download your credit files to your personal computer.

(so you can access them easily without going online)

Step 3 - Open a simple text document and take copious notes.

Start prioritizing your negative or derogatory listings from WORST to least damaging. Public record files like bankruptcies, judgements and tax liens are the worst, and simple inquiries (e.g. - having your credit file pulled) are the least damaging and should be worried about last.

BIG SELF HELP CREDIT REPAIR TIP!

One of the easiest ways to find errors in your credit file is to look for discrepancies between how information is being reported on all 3 reports.

In other words, if one credit bureau said you have a charged off balance of $1000, and another says the charged off balance is $900, and the third says the amount was $940, believe it or not, clearly at least 2 of the 3 agencies are reporting an INCORRECT balance on this account, and Federal Law gives you the right to challenge this as NOT true.

Remember, the crux of all credit repair work is that you have the right to have a credit report that is ACCURATE.

If something is not 100% true, even if pieces and parts of it may be true, you have the right to challenge that information as incorrect, and request it be removed, deleted or updated to be true.

And while there are many different tools, tricks, and techniques that different credit repair companies use, at it's CORE, it's always about the fact that you have the legal right to a credit file that is 100% verifiably accurate, and every error, omission, or opportunity to challenge something as NOT true is an opportunity to have something damaging........DELETED!

Step 4: Send a letter to the credit bureaus' CHALLENGING the negative, inaccurate information you just compiled.

Be careful to follow the list of prioritized items you made in step 3.

Only dispute, or challenge the information that is MOST detrimental to your credit score during this first round.

Important NOTE: If you have many things on your report that are bad, do NOT try to get everything off at once. Doing so, CAN (and often will) trigger the ONE piece of ammunition that the credit bureau's have in their arsenal to fight you: They can claim your dispute is FRIVOLOUS. (which means they WON'T attempt to verify your challenges, and your bad credit will remain)

Remember: The FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) gives the credit bureaus a reasonable time period to to investigate your claims, and this time period is generally considered to be 30 days.

Anything that CAN'T be verified within 30 days?

It MUST come off of your report...:-)

Every item that comes off, spells a little victory for your FICO score.

And taken together, if you win enough small battles, you start to win the war!

And THAT my friends, is how self help credit repair is done.

1. Get your report.
2. Analyze your report.
3. Itemize your negatives.
4. Form a battle plan for disputing the worst offenders, first.
5. Fire off your letters.
6. Wait 30 days for results. (typically, with mailing time, you want to allocate 35-40 days to get your updated results)

Then -

Rinse, wash and repeat!

Now, for many of you, this is more than enough information to begin the process of repair your own credit, starting today.

For others, you may NOT want to do the heavy lifting, and instead, you may be interested in outsourcing all of the above to the professionals.

A good credit repair lawyer, company, clinic or consultant can remove ALL of the heavy lifting, and do all of the "grunt" work for you.

They can also, by virtue of their experience and expertise, often come up with very unique, creative, compelling and confrontational ways to challenge the credit agencies in your behalf.

I've had great success disputing items on my own report. And I've also had great success with professional credit experts who have done ALL of the work for me.

But, if you decide to hire a credit repair professional, it's important to make sure they have the following attributes:

1. Clearly stated client agreements and payment policies. (credit repair companies MUST charge you for work already completed.....they CANNOT charge you for work not yet done)
2. Have clear cut cancellation contracts.
3. Clearly spell out exactly what they're doing to do for you.
4. Not make extravagant guarantees that sound too good to be true. (this is a red flag...and often illegal as well)
5. NOT recommend you do anything that sounds super sneaky, unethical or weird.
6. (like getting a new ID or fake file to use to apply for credit - this is a HUGE "no-no" and should be avoided at all costs)
7. Look for honest, ethical and reputable companies that have stood the test of time, have fans, friends and clients who rave about their results, and who make you feel comfortable in your gut that you are making a wise choice!

Remember, credit repair is NOT some seedy process that you should be ashamed about, or feel embarrassed, humiliated or uncomfortable with. Everyone has problems in life....and the good news is, financial issues, especially those that concern credit, are often amongst the easiest to repair.

I truly hope this article has helped you.

I also want you to have HOPE that better days await you and your family.

Don't let bad credit hold you back.

Life is short.

And every day wasted worrying about your credit is one day you'll never get back.

Information is power.

Taking action is critical.

So whether you choose to fix your credit yourself, or hire a credit repair professional to do it for you, I wish you NOTHING but the best on your journey...and may only good things await when you get where you truly want, and deserve to be...:-)