Good Credit Sense

Here are some good ideas when it comes to consumer credit. Whether you are applying for a credit card, mortgage, or any other loan. Its good to know your credit standing. Here are some ideas, if you unfortunately find and error.

From the "http://www.uni-sol.com/cca/html/newarticle.html"

"The New Legislation

This widespread unfairness has finally, after twenty years, prompted Congress to push aside the powerful credit bureau lobby and to pass a new Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA.) The new FCRA goes into effect on September 30, 1997, and with it comes a bright era in consumer rights.

The new FCRA increases the responsibilities of credit bureaus and creditors. Furthermore, they have greater risk of lawsuit if they fail to provide every right under the FCRA. Most importantly, the new FCRA increases credit bureau responsibilities when derogatory credit is disputed.

The catch is: you must take action to gain these new credit rights. You must demand fairness before the law will help restore your good credit.

Protecting Your Credit Rights

Outline below is a brief, 3 step plan to defend your credit rights. If you need more details to get started, please feel free to download the Free Credit Restoration Package available on this site.


Examine your credit report every three months.
Before you begin the battle, you must know the battlefield. Your struggle to restore your credit will be fought between the lines of your three credit reports. These reports will generally cost $8.00 each. You must order all three credit reports (TRW, Trans Union, and Equifax) as they are all used frequently by credit companies.

When you first receive your Trans Union and Equifax credit reports, you will find them difficult to read. The information is coded in a way that is not immediately readable by the average consumer. Each credit report should arrive with a key which interprets the codes and indicators on the credit report. Sit down with the credit report and study it until you understand what each code means. You must monitor your credit report religiously to prevent the appearance of bad credit.


Dispute credit report listings which you feel are unfair or inaccurate with the credit bureau.
The dispute letter is the single most powerful weapon in your arsenal. The new FCRA requires the credit bureaus to handle your dispute with precision and reliability. However, the credit bureaus still have some loopholes to escape their responsibilities if you don't compose your dispute properly, including the determination that your dispute is technically "frivolous or irrelevant."

After you've analyzed your reports and marked every negative listing, you may begin to draft your dispute letter. Do not use "form-type" dispute letters as they will be quickly spotted and rejected by the credit bureaus as "frivolous or irrelevant." Instead, follow these general strategies:


Always indicate whether the disputed listing is being challenged as "not mine" or "not late." While you must never say that an account isn't yours or that you weren't late unless you believe that it is true, the credit bureau must know if you are disputing the existence of the listing or just the information within the listing. If you are unclear about the nature of your dispute, the credit bureau will promptly return your letter. Remember, the credit bureaus see all disputes as either "not mine" or "not late."

Tell the credit bureau of the desired outcome of the investigation. You must always state what you would like done with the listing. There are two options: delete the entire listing or erase the late pay notations within the listing.

Provide a reason for your dispute. If you don't give some kind of explanation as to why you think the credit report is wrong, then the credit bureau may return or ignore your dispute.

Never sound like an expert. The credit bureaus receive over 10,000 disputes per day. Your dispute should look like an average dispute. If you quote legal statute or if you remind the credit bureaus of your rights under law, they will probably determine that you read a book about credit repair or you are using a credit repair company. If the credit bureau believes that you are attempting to systematically restore your credit, your dispute will be tossed into the "frivolous or irrelevant" bin.

Patience and follow-through are the keys to this process. Don't bombard the credit bureaus with disputes. Sending one dispute right after another is wasteful and counterproductive. You should send no more than one dispute every ninety days. If you dispute more often, the credit bureau will simply return the dispute as "frivolous or irrelevant."

Dispute the listing with the creditor who reported it.
Under the new FCRA, the creditor is now responsible to adhere to proper procedure in verifying consumer disputes You should take your challenge to the creditor by writing letters directly to that creditor. If you still owe money on the credit item in question, you may use a powerful negotiation tactic known as "debt settlement" to reduce your payoff AND to accomplish the removal of the negative listing. Debt Settlement requires negotiation and is usually best performed by an attorney. "

Hope it helped