You may have heard many things about who exactly is legally able to dispute items on a consumer credit report. While we aren’t lawyers and our ramblings shouldn’t be taken as legal advice, do you really believe there is a law that says you can’t tell a credit bureau they are off their rockers??

Of course not. Feel free to contact the credit bureaus as you see fit concerning items on your credit report. Some information you may want to include in your correspondence is:

• Your full name
• Your address
• Your social security number
• The account names & numbers in question
• Why you are writing and what you thing is incorrect on your credit report

Good luck!

If you hired a credit repair company or decided to dispute items on your credit report with the credit bureaus yourself, the process would look something like this:

1. Dispute letter sent to bureau.
2. Bureau receives dispute letter and opens investigation with your creditor.
3. Your creditor has 30 days to respond to the credit bureau.
4. Credit bureau then sends you the results.  After mailing time this is generally about 60 days after you initially sent your dispute letter.

As a continuing installation to our blog here at CreditForums.org, we’d like to touch on credit repair just a bit. This is a hot topic among consumers, especially those with imperfect credit histories.

So without further ado, let’s talk definitions. Credit repair is usually considered the act of sending dispute letters to the three major credit bureaus for accounts with negative history. Law requires that the credit bureaus supply proof that their records are correct, otherwise they must remove the information from the information. Therefore, if a bureau cannot prove that “x” account is past due, it may no longer be marked as late on your credit report and your credit scores may improve as a result.

That, in a nutshell, is what is typically thought of as credit repair. There are companies out there who specialize in this service and there are also ways to go about disputing your credit report on your own. Stay tuned for more information on both.

As most consumers eventually discover, credit ratings play a huge role in the ability to secure financing for large purchases like homes, cars, boats, jewelry, and other expensive items. Credit ratings also have an effect on less innocuous financing like credit cards and even savings and checking accounts. Following are a few tips to help you maintain a good credit rating so that when the time comes, you are in a good position to make those large purchases in life.

First, create a budget. And stick to it! Impulse buying is about the worst strategy you can have when it comes to money management. We often don’t notice how quickly bills pile up and just because a loan representative tells us we are qualified to make a purchase, that doesn’t mean we should!

Once you have your budget planned out, you can also list the larger items you hope to buy at some point in the future. Look at these like goals and work towards buying them one-by-one, which will help you avoid impulse buying.

Most retail stores are counting on you to make impulsive decisions when out shopping, which is how they make most of their money. Don’t fall into this trap and be prepared to fight impulsive urges. Buying on a whim can result in a strained budget and buyer’s remorse later. When you strain your budget, you put yourself in a position to miss bill payments when an emergency comes up and cash is short. This is how bad marks begin to appear on your credit report. So just say no to impulse buying!

Another benefit to resisting impulse buying is that you can shop around and take advantage of competing stores to find the very best deal. Also, most stores have price guarantees so hold onto your receipt after you make a purchase because if you find a better deal elsewhere soon after your initial purchase, you can often get the difference back from the store where you originally purchased the item.

Though these don’t directly affect your credit rating, they can increase your cost of purchase and further your strain your budget. What I am talking about are extended warranties. Interestingly, fewer than 20% of items purchased on extended warranty are ever brought in for repair. Is your peace of mind worth that extra cost? You’ll have to decide for yourself, but it isn’t for me. The standard warranty usually is sufficient.

The bottom line when it comes to maintaining a good credit rating is to stay in control of your spending. Budget, plan for large purchases, and don’t spend more than you earn. That’s the easy formula for money management and a good credit rating. All that’s left is to go and do it!

Many people have some form of bad credit. Negative items on your credit report can result in a higher cost of borrowing to you (interest rate) or even lower your chances for obtaining financing. However, bad credit is not the end of the world. There are even a few things you can do to clean up your credit report that may help you get better loan terms the next time you apply for a credit card, mortgage, or car loan.

Credit bureaus, also known as credit reporting agencies, collect information about consumers and then sell that information. The information can be seen by creditors when you apply for almost any sort of loan.

The credit bureaus get their information from the various creditors who you have done business with in the past. If you had late payments, defaulted, declared bankruptcy, etc then the creditors most likely notified the credit bureaus of that status.

Getting a copy of your credit report is the first step in cleaning it up (how to get a free credit report here). Once you have a copy, you can see what sort of information is available to your future creditors. Review your report carefully, once you have obtained it. If you find any derogatory items that are incorrect or inaccurate, you can contact the credit bureaus to file a dispute.

When you dispute an item on your credit report, it must be re-investigated. If the truth of the matter cannot be discovered within a reasonable amount of time by the credit bureau, then the negative information must be removed from your credit report.

Also, at your request, the credit bureaus will resend your corrected credit report to anyone who received your report within the six months prior to the correction. Job applicants can have their corrected credit report sent to anyone who received a copy in the last two years for employment reasons.

Before you do anything else, verify the information in your credit report and dispute any negative or incorrect information. It can make a big difference in what it costs you to borrow money.

Here is a list of contact numbers for live people at the three major credit reporting agencies:

Trans Union - 312-258-1818
Experian - 714-830-7000
Equifax - 404-885-8000

Hat tip to Greg Phillips.

In the U.S., the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) provides the opportunity for everyone to get one free credit report each year from each of the three credit reporting bureaus (usually combined into a single report). You can see what information the government has access to, along with businesses who you grant permission to pull your credit report. Included information ranges from your personal address history to any open or closed collection accounts and judgements against you. It also includes details about what bills you have, how much you owe, and how you pay your bills.

To get your free credit report, visit the official website.

For more information on your right to a free annual credit report visit the official information from the FTC here.