Credit repair is a huge challenge for most of us trying to get inaccurate or old information off of our credit report. But if you know what legal rights you have you may be surprised at what you can accomplish.
In 1971 the United States Congress enacted the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This Act was established to help insure that credit bureaus and reporting agencies investigate the credit information and items that are disputed by people.
This federal law gives consumers the power to dispute and effectively challenge validity, accuracy, and verifiability of the each credit item which appears on their credit report. It also establishes that the credit agency must repair any and all credit items if it is inaccurate/false or cannot be verified.
Although this was a step in the right direction, people continue to have credit report problems and benegatively affected by credit agency reporting. One of the biggest reasons for this is the fact that many people simply don’t have the necessary information on how to correct or change their credit information. This very important information could even save many from bankruptcy.
The problem is the entire dispute system is designed to frustrate and discourage the consumer. Credit bureaus are known for using many poor activities including stall tactics, unnecessary requests for additional information and unnecessary clarification of identity.
The fast majority of people simply give up before they so much as look at their credit report history. For those who take the step to get their credit report, “breaking down” the information and understanding it can be enough to deter any further action. For those who actually go through the process of disputing and send the necessary dispute letter, many credit agencies will still disregard the person’s dispute
I’ve talked with some people who actually believe that credit agencies have to complete their credit related investigation within thirty days of noticeor they are then required to remove the particular disputed item from your credit report. This is simply false.
Believe it or not, accuracy of your information actually has very little to do with the removal of this negative information from your credit history. One of the main reasons for inaccurate data on your credit report is the “laziness” of many creditor grantors to take the time to verify the info on your credit report. While the credit bureaus may be in the business of reporting credit histories, creditor grantors are not.
However, if you take the time to send a dispute letter to the credit agencies and they do investigate your dispute, the chances of being successful are quite good. If a credit bureau cannot verify an item before completing its investigation, then they are required by law to remove the item from your credit report and that is a great way to increase your overall credit score. If your efforts seem to be falling on “deaf ears”, then you can always employ the services of a credit report lawyer. Sometimes, these agencies tend to respond more favorably to lawyers who have the means and know how to take them to court. This is not an ideal outcome for any party, thus a lawyer can sometimes get you better results than if you were to go it alone.
