Nowadays, most consumers use a method of disputing an item on their credit report via the Online Dispute. What is an Online Credit Dispute? Why would I not want to use the online credit dispute method?

First off, the online dispute was created to assist the credit agencies to process disputes or “correct inaccuracies” (as they put it) in record time. When you go to dispute a credit item online, you may see something like the following.

As you can see the online credit dispute only provides you with some pre-defined reasons for your disputed credit item. It does not allow you to go into detail as to what and why you are actually disputing the item on your credit report. It does, however, provide a small data field for you to give detailed information about your dispute. There is one major drawback, this detailed information will not be reviewed (I’ll explain why later). Furthermore, the reasons that are present for online credit report disputing actually go into a system called E-Oscar. This system is what all of the Credit Agencies use for their credit dispute investigations. The reason that you select for disputing your credit report item online is then converted into a two to three digit code that goes directly into E-Oscar. At that point, E-Oscar shoots it off to the creditor.
Sound easy right? Not so fast…
By using the online credit report dispute process, you are assisting the Credit Agencies in not providing true verification. Do you honestly think that a two to three digit code will tell the Credit Agency exactly why you are disputing a particular item? I think not! Also, by doing the online credit dispute the Credit Agency will never actually see your dispute and they will never actually read your detailed explanation.

Why on earth would you give more power and a bigger advantage to the Credit Agencies?

Now, on the flip side, why would you write a letter?
Writing a proper dispute letter and using the USPS will greatly benefit you during your dispute process. The reason being, as soon as the Credit Agencies receive your letter they have 30 days to perform an investigation.
This means the following: Your letter has to be processed, routed to the correct department through inter office mail, divided into proper stacks (depending on letter type), assigned out to a CSR (not a credit expert), reviewed by the CSR, entered into the E-Oscar system, and finally sent off to the creditor. This whole beginning process will take approximately three to four days. Once the original creditor reviews the dispute and sends it back, the CSR will then enter results and send you a letter displaying the results. This process is very time consuming and as you can imagine millions of dispute letters hit the Credit Agencies a year.

For obvious reasons, you have a higher chance of human error when you factor in writing a letter and mailing it. Why shoot yourself in the foot? Why send an online dispute to dispute your credit report items? By submitting an online credit dispute, you eliminate the human work and you plug directly into the credit agency system.

Clearly, disputing your credit report online is not the way to go!

H & I Credit Solutions

Some folks are under the impression that the older the items are the easier they are to remove. Is that true? Sometimes it is, sometimes not. Depending on the type of item that is being reported it really depends as always if the item is verifiable, accurate or misleading.

Just because an item is old doesn’t mean that it will be easy to remove. Remember, if your old items are verifiable and accurate, they will not be removed. The FCRA strictly states that the credit reporting agencies have to report verifiable and accurate information.

Now, having said that, if your old item or any item is NOT verifiable or accurate it has to be changed or deleted.

Having an accurate credit report with verifiable information will allow consumers to better represent themselves when applying for a loan. It will empower consumers by knowing exactly what is on their report and know what their credit scores are.

It is a great feeling knowing where you stand when negotiating for a loan. There will not be any surprises.

As always Empower Yourself – Educate Yourself – Take Action

H & I Credit Solutions

A lot of consumers want to do something about their credit for many reasons. The problem is that most people do not know what they need to do to take that first step in repairing their credit. The first step to repairing your own credit is very simple.

Step One: You must find out what is on your credit report.

I’ll admit, that I thought at one point, I pay all my bills on time so there is nothing negative on my credit report. My thinking was completely understandable because, if I pay all my bills and I haven’t done anything to jeopardize my report then it should be ok, right? Well stop right there, just because you are a responsible consumer doesn’t mean that someone else hasn’t stolen your identity.

So back to the first step…

Obtain a copy of your credit report from all three credit bureaus. This will allow you to see what is being reported and what is not being reported on each credit bureau. You may find that something that you were completely unaware of is reporting on your report. Something that is not even yours, how would that make you feel?

There are a lot of different sources of which you can pull your credit report. On a previous topic, I discussed how to get your credit report for free from www.annualcreditreport.com. The choice of how you receive your credit report is up to you. After you choose a method, get your copy and look through it. So that is your first step. Remember, all negative items on your credit report have to be verifiable. If the negative items are not verifiable, then by law it has to be removed.

Take that first step.

H & I Credit Solutions

Repairing your own credit really depends on you, the consumer, and the amount of time you’re willing to spend towards repairing your credit. While some may think that disputing items on your credit report should be easy, getting results can often be time consuming, difficult, complex, and infuriating. And if you are looking online on how to repair your own credit, there are a lot of misleading ways to go about disputing items on your credit report.

Many consumers are not able to spend the time or commit the proper amount of time to study effective credit repair strategies and apply principles learned to repair their own credit. In fact, many consumers attempt credit repair on their own files, only to seek professional help from a credit repair company after they have realized the amount of research, time, effort, & strategy goes in to credit repair.

Credit repair is much more than simply sending dispute letters to Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, and possibly any other credit reporting agencies. It may become necessary to do more than simply ask the credit bureaus to perform an investigation on your credit report. Dealing with creditors, collections agencies, and the courts may be required knowledge to repair your credit reports. It’s very important to know how to deal with positive or negative entries on your credit report during the credit repair process and knowing how to deal with collection agencies and creditors.

The simple answer is, yes you can repair your own credit. However, repairing your credit is like repairing your own air conditioner or representing yourself in court. You can certainly do it. You have every legal right to repair your credit, but you must decide if you are willing to take the time and endure the possible frustration of doing your own credit repair. In the same way, you have the legal right to represent yourself in court or in front of a jury, but if your unsure, don’t have the proper education, or don’t have the confidence then it may not be a good idea. It is always a good idea to educate yourself on your personal finances and how to better your future.

Empower – Educate – Take Action

H & I Credit Solutions