Lexington Law Firm is the largest and oldest credit repair company in the nation. It has been in business for over 17 years and continues to enjoy an exceptional reputation for having helped over a half million clients in their efforts to repair their credit reports. Lexington Law works with clients to improve their credit reports legally and affordably. It's simple: improving credit reports improve qualities of life.

Lexington Law Firm is the trusted leader in the credit report repair business for one reason: they ensure the process is easy and effective for each of their clients. Lexington Law is a real law firm. It's responsible for the employment of over 400 attorneys, paralegals and agents - each of whom works to ensure the highest standard of service for its clients. Leveraging your consumer rights to engage the credit bureaus is what they do best. They work on your behalf to assist you with removing questionable and negative items from your credit reports.

Currently on their website, Lexington Law is offering a free book, co-authored with its lead attorney, John Heath. The book is titled "Credit Revolution - Path of the Smart Consumer". All you have to do is fill out the convenient form. The book is usually mailed within seven days. They can also contact you for a free consultation to discuss your current situation.

Lexington Law Firm's reputation represents that of professionalism and courtesy. In addition to the outstanding services its staff provides, they also provide top-notch client support that is second to none. Take a moment to read the testimonials online and you will begin to see how impressed and truly happy their clients are with the services received.

Repairing bad credit can seem like a slow and time consuming process. Try to be patient and remember that it didn’t get bad overnight. Understanding the credit system and how your credit reports are perceived through the eyes of creditors is crucial to repairing bad credit. Unfortunately, there are millions of Americans who learn how the credit system works too late. They end up paying the price for this lack of knowledge, believe me.

Usually when a consumer asks the question “how do you repair bad credit?” it’s too late. It’s usually once their family has been denied for that perfect house they picked out and wanted to buy. They make enough money and they’re good people. They deserve a shot at credit, but their credit scores are too low. Sometimes it’s on the way back from a car dealership or at a bank after applying for a car loan and finding out that their application has been denied. Either way, it can really be a heart breaker and it can stop you from living the life you want to live.

The good news is that no matter how bad your situation is, there are many ways to repair your credit. The best way to do that by contacting the 3 major credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion and requesting a copy of your credit reports from. You should also get a copy of your FICO scores so you can measure progress.

Once you have your credit reports, you’ll want to make sure all the information is accurate. About 79% of all credit reports have errors on them. These errors can mean the difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest. This is serious stuff.

Look for any negative accounts on your credit report that could be inaccurate. If you are not 100% sure they are accurate - highlight them. If you are unsure of whether an account is inaccurate or not, or if there is any question in your mind that it doesn’t belong there, request an investigation. Include these items in a dispute letter to the credit bureau that is reporting them.

Give the credit bureaus time to conduct their investigation. According to the FTC, 30 days is sufficient time. Once you receive the results of the investigation, check to see which negative items have been removed. If items have been verified, you can send them a procedural request to request the exact methods they used to verify the information. You will want to keep using this process until you have achieved the desired results.

This is just one method of credit repair. There are many more. Learning how to repair bad credit is a must for anyone who suffers from a bad credit rating. Your credit rating is essential to your financial well-being and you should always be willing to fight for it.

To learn about other methods of repairing bad credit and how to repair bad credit visit AAACreditGuide.com the trusted authority on credit report repair.

More people are disputing items on their credit reports then ever before, yet some people still don’t even know that a credit report dispute is even possible. It’s strange that one of the best ways to improve your credit scores is still a secret to so many people. With so many consumers having bad credit nowadays, you would think that these credit dispute methods would be all over the media – but they’re not.

As a consumer advocate and credit repair specialist, I am passionate about teaching people that there are ways to dispute what your creditors and debt collectors are saying about you. Your credit report contains information about all of the places you have lived and how you pay your bills. It even contains information about whether you’ve been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. The credit bureaus keep this information about you all your life and then they sell it for a profit. You don’t get a dime of that profit.

Over 79% of all credit reports have false information being reported on them. This information affects your livelihood in many different ways and you don’t have to sit back and let them report bogus information about you. In fact, if you request an investigation with a credit bureau, they must investigate the information with the provider and prove to you that the information belongs on your credit report. They have 30 days to provide you with this proof. If they can’t provide the information is must be removed from your credit report immediately.

When making a credit report dispute, remember that the consumer reporting agency (credit bureau) and the information provider are the ones responsible for correcting inaccurate and incomplete information on your report. When making the dispute, tell the credit bureau, in writing, what information you think is inaccurate. You may even want to enclose a copy of your report with the items in question circled so that it’s clear to them which items you are disputing. You don’t have to provide them with a reason for your credit report dispute unless you want to. It’s usually better not to. The less you say the better. The burden of proof is on them.

The credit bureaus must investigate the items in question within 30 days. They also must forward all relevant data that you wish to provide about the inaccuracy to the organization that provided the information. Once the information provider receives the credit report dispute from the credit bureau, it must investigate and report the results back to the credit bureau. If the information provider finds the disputed information to be inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide credit bureaus so they can correct the information in your file.

In America, you can't even walk down the street without somebody wanting to check your credit. If you suffer from bad credit, then you need to learn techniques to improve your credit rating - and you need to learn them now! The very happiness of your life can depend on it. Let's take a look at some of the most effective ways to do it:

Tip 1: You absolutely have to stay on top of the information game. It is your right to obtain a free credit report once every year from each of three major credit bureaus: TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. If you are really smart about it, you will get one every four months from each one by alternating. Go over these reports very carefully and look for the following:

• Any negative item. You see, every negative item on your credit report can be disputed by you. If the agency cannot verify the negative claim within 30 to 45 days - even if it's true - it must be stricken from your report!

• Outdated negative items. All negative items on your credit report have a statute of limitations. After a given time period, they are supposed to drop off automatically. So, if you notice something that is 10 years old, you probably want to request that it be removed.

• Items that have been paid in full and do not state so.

• Any other item that catches your attention!

Tip 2: Start paying your bills on time. Regardless of your past credit history, it is never too late to start improving your credit rating. Pay on time every time and you will see positive changes begin to occur.

Tip 3: You have to keep your credit cards paid down or paid completely off to improve your credit rating. Max them at 30% of the actual maximum and then pay them in full every month. This is the second most important scoring variable (after making timely payments) that contributes to your credit score.

Tip 4: Break open your wallet and dig out some of those old credit cards. Use them and pay them promptly and in full. Long-standing credit accounts rate you higher than brand new ones. Keep that positive payment information flowing into the major credit reporting agencies to help to improve your credit rating.

There are many more tips and tricks that you can utilize to improve your credit rating quickly. These are the most powerful though. Use these and be diligent. You will begin to see dramatic improvements in your credit rating. Just stick to the plan and keep repeating it. It is very possible to improve your credit rating with a little effort and patience. Soon, you'll be back at the top!

If you have fallen on some hard financial times, you may be looking into repairing your credit. Sometimes unfortunate circumstances follow that old cliché that "trouble comes in threes" and all three cause you to go under financially. Maybe you were laid off from your job, injured, or got involved in a business that went sour. If you have to declare bankruptcy, it can show up on your credit report for up to 10 years. However, it will bring your outstanding debt balances back to zero, and this may actually help your credit report.

Now that you are recovering financially, you want to know the best strategies for credit repair after bankruptcy. At this point, you need to move forward with new knowledge and new financial habits in order to improve your credit score.

One of the new habits you need to implement for a successful plan for repairing your credit after bankruptcy is to check your credit report every year. You want to make sure that there are no errors or charges on your report that are negatively affecting your score. If you find such problems, you need to follow the procedures to dispute them and get them cleared up. You also want to check to make sure that the good financial moves you are making, like paying your bills on time, are being reported and are reflected in your score.

To recover from a devastating bankruptcy, you need to get in the habit of paying all your bills on time. Whether you pay your bills on time or not is one of the biggest factors that the credit reporting companies take into account when they calculate your score. Use post-it notes, calendars, alarms on your cell phone, whatever it takes to remind yourself of when your bills are due and get the payment sent off at least 3 days before it is due to make sure it arrives on time. This will be a slow process, but if you can stay focused and get really good at making your payments on time, your credit report will reflect your good behavior and your score will start to increase.

To avoid financial disasters in the future, set aside an emergency fund for yourself. Experts recommend having a least 3 months of income set aside so that if you are injured or laid off you will have a cash cushion while you get back on your feet. It will also help you deal with those unexpected expenses like cars breaking down or home appliances failing. If you can successfully create these new, healthy financial habits, you will enjoy financial peace.

Small businesses and other organizations used third party collection agencies to collect money that is owed to them. The time, energy and human resources necessary to collect overdue account balances distract their workforces from concentrating on core business responsibilities. Of course, collection agencies do not work for free; they charge a percentage of the monies that they successfully collect (normally between 20 and 35 percent). For the businesses that utilize their services, it is believed that paying the collection agency to retrieve overdue funds and paying them a percentage is better than collecting nothing at all.

Debt collectors that are employed by these collection agencies have notoriously bad reputations for being overly aggressive and/or disrespectful to the debtors that they attempt to collect from. As a debtor, you are entitled to fair treatment as outlined in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Debt collectors are regulated as to the methods that they may employ to attempt to collect from a given debtor. Here is a partial list of those regulations:

A debt collector may not:

• call you before 8 am;

• call you after 9 pm;

• call you at your place of employment;

• engage in abusive or deceptive strategies to collect a debt;

• engage in repetitive phone harassment;

• misrepresent their identities;

• falsify credit information about debtors;

• send false documentation to you that appears to be from a court;

• imply that you are guilty of a crime and stand to be arrested;

• collect any amount past what is actually owed;

• claim that legal action is to be taken concerning the debt when it fact it is not;

• fail to inform you that legal action is being taken against you.

If you write a letter to the collection agency that is contacting you stating that you wish for them to cease, they are required to do so. This does not alleviate you from the debt; it simply means that the collection agency must desist from their collection attempts. Likewise, you are fully entitled to dispute any debt that you are being perused for.

If you are going to engage in conversations with representatives from collection agencies, there are some guidelines to keep in mind. Here they are:

• Remember that you are fully entitled to be treated fairly and with dignified respect. Just because you owe a debt doesn't give a debt collector the right to be demeaning to you. Do not hesitate to assert this fact to them.

• Do not offer information that’s not directly relevant to the debt being discussed. Stick to the facts and do not allow yourself to be disarmed by the collection agency representative.

• Remember that a debt collector works for a percentage. They are trying to get you to cough up as much money as possible with no regards to your other responsibilities. They have the power to negotiate or they wouldn't even be calling you. Ask yourself what would truly be a comfortable periodic payment amount, and then offer the half of that.

• Do not discuss your employment, family, banking information or any other aspect of your life besides the debt in question.

• If you strike a "deal" with a debt collector, let them know that you will not honor it until you receive it writing.

Dealing with collection agencies is unpleasant by nature. However, if you find yourself in the position that you must, there are ways to make it a beneficial situation. Always arm yourself with knowledge and forethought before engaging in deliberations with a debt collection agency.

Learn more about dealing with collection agencies and how you can get them removed from your credit report at the credit repair authority site.

You see the words "charge off" a lot these days. The society is heavily credit dependent and millions of people find themselves in difficult situations concerning their debt. In fact, a full one percent of credit card debts end up being recorded as charge offs today. Let's examine what a charge off actually is and learn how it affects your credit rating.

A charge off has been initiated when an account is removed from the issuer of a credit card. The issuer must absorb the debt as a loss. This normally happens with accounts that been delinquent for a minimum of 180 days. So, in essence, a charge off is simply an entry made in the credit card issuer's accounting books. The lender is taking the loss, and the debtor is going to get a credit rating smackdown as a result.

The debtor stills owes the lender who has written the debt off. Just because the lender charges the account off, it doesn't mean that the debt was not legitimate. Many times, the lender will sell debts that have been charged off to third party collection agencies. The collection agencies then owns the debts, and they look upon them as an assets to their company. They will initiate measures to collect the debt. Many times, it would have been far getter, and easier, to deal directly with the lender before they sold the debt to the collection agency.

Although collection agencies are regulated by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), they often will result to questionable tactics to attempt to collect the debt. Some of these tactics involve:

• Threatening or abusive language;

• Telephone harassment at your home and/or workplace;

• Harassment of your family, friends and even coworkers;

• Threatening the debtor with illegitimate incarceration;

• Claiming to be lawyers or representatives of the court;

• and many more.

There are over one and a half million people that file for bankruptcy each year in the US and 50% of charge offs are results of these filings. Of course, when a bankruptcy s granted, the debts are alleviated and not able to sold to third party collection agencies.

Charge offs have a negative impact on your credit score as well. You see, roughly 35% of your credit score is based on payment history. It is one of the most valued elements for lenders to look at to determine a particular credit candidate's risk factor. Having a charge off recorded against you shows that you have failed to make payments due on an account. The result is a lower credit rating and higher future interest rates for you.

Even if you have had a perfect payment history, the charge off will still result in higher interest rates for you. The logic is that creditors can make up for the losses that they incur as a result of charge offs by charging more interest to all those who have charge offs recorded on the credit reports.

You can attempt to negotiate with the lender who issued a charge off to your account. You may be able to have the charge off reclassified as "Paid as Agreed" which will clear the issue from your report. If you do enter into such an agreement with the lender, protect yourself by always getting it in writing.

Charge offs are happening in record numbers as the economy continues to decline quarter after quarter. Understanding what charge offs are and how they can affect you can go a long way to keeping your credit report in great shape!

Never before has building up your credit score been as important as it is today. It isn't just about buying homes and fancy cars; it takes good credit just to get through the days and provide the necessities of life. Without a decent credit score, you stand very little chance to advance in our capitalistic society. It’s easy to mess up your credit score too. Millions of people are stunned when their credit score drops as much as one hundred points for a single missed or late payment! Fear not - there are ways to build your credit score back up again.

You can begin the credit repair process by obtaining a free credit report from each of the major credit reporting bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You need to have fresh information if you want to be able to accurately monitor your efforts to build your credit score back up.

Tip 1: Start off by establishing a checking and a savings account if you don’t have them. Potential lenders see bank accounts that are kept in good standing as signs of stability. Don't let your balances go negative.

Tip 2: Make your payments for loans, credit cards, rent and even utility bills on time - every time. Even if you have had poor records in the past, you can begin to build your credit score back up by establishing timely payment habits. Be assured that when you apply for credit, these things will be considered.

Tip 3: Realize the two most important factors that determine your credit score. They are: (1) the timeliness with which you make your payments due, and (2) the amount of credit that you have that you actually use. When you have credit cards, lenders like to see that you do not always use what is available to you. This shows restraint on your part. This helps to build your credit score back up.

Building your credit score back up to a desirable level is not an insurmountable endeavor; you can do it! Be patient and exercise responsibility. Put yourself in the position of a lender and ask yourself whether you would loan money or extend credit to you. When you do have credit extended to you, protect it and be responsible with it. Your credit rating has a lot to do with the amount of happiness and freedom that will be granted to you in life.

If you have negative items on your credit report, find a credit repair service to help you get them removed.

It's no secret that we live in a credit society. If you have a credit rating of sufficient rank, you can live a very nice life as long as you maintain responsible payment habits. There are vast numbers of Americans that have seen their credit ratings fall to levels that disallow them from acquiring the things that they want out of life - including some of the basic necessities like housing and transportation. If you are one of those people, there is still hope! You can take steps to improve your credit rating. You can restore it to levels where you can breathe again and start enjoying your life. Let's examine some of these steps now:

• You need to see just what kind of shape your credit is in. It may not be as bad as you think - it may be worse. Check it at least once every year. You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus. You are also entitled to a free copy any and every time that you are turned down for a credit card or auto loan. By checking your credit score regularly, you will be better able to identify and rectify problem areas.

• Once you know what the problems are, start fixing them. The first item to check for is erroneous information. There could be clerical errors and the like living on your credit reports and destroying your credit reputation. By immediately notifying the reporting agencies about errors, you have taken the first important step to credit restoration.

• Obviously, one of the biggest credit rating destroyers is not paying your bills on time - so start doing it! Your credit rating is a number that others use to gain insight as to your dependability. Regardless of the reasons that your credit is damaged or broken, today is the day to begin repairing it. Make every payment on time - every time.

• Don't buy things on credit unless you are absolutely positive that you will be able to pay for them on time. If you even have a little doubt, put the purchase off until a later time.

• Make some small sacrifices here and there and pay your credit cards down. Stop paying that minimum payment each month. After late payments, high credit card balances are the most damaging aspect of your credit rating. If you want to restore your credit rating to desirable levels, pay those cards down and then quit using them so much.

• You can obtain a secured credit card to begin generating the proof that you need to show potential creditors that you can handle responsibility. Most issuers of secured credit cards guarantee reporting your payments every month.

Having bad credit isn't an end-all situation. With a little time and effort, you can begin to restore your credit rating to the levels that you need and desire. Life goes a lot smoother for you when you have good credit. Start today to restore your credit rating!

Most people do not understand that are many ways to be proactive and raise their credit scores. It's not about just sitting back and hoping for the best. You can do more than just not messing up; you can actually follow these tips to raise your credit score.

Firstly, you need to be aware of your rights and what exactly your credit report states. There normally are several bogus items on any given credit report that can be dealt with simply. Request a free yearly copy from the three major credit bureaus. You are entitled to one copy every year from each of them. They are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. If you make a request to each one, alternating between them every 4 months, then you will always have a fresh report to monitor your progress in raising your bad credit score.

The most effective way to raise a bad credit score is to get rid of the negative items on your credit report. You are entitled to dispute any and every negative item on your report. Even if you know the item to be based on fact, it is still your legal right to dispute it.

Once you have disputed a given item, the agency must either verify that item with a reasonable time or remove it from the report. That time period is usually between 30 and 45 days from the date of dispute submittal. The credit bureau must contact the creditor that placed the negative item and get it verified by them. If someone is lazy, doesn't find the time, makes clerical errors or otherwise messes up, you are entitled to request that the item be stricken.

This legal credit repair technique is the most powerful method to raise a bad credit score. Statistics show that 40% of the items disputed do not get verified and are therefore able to be stricken. This is exactly what credit repair agencies and attorneys charge thousands of dollars to do for you. Remember to choose the busiest business times of the year to file your disputes. You want for them to not get verified! Always send in your dispute forms via certified mail and request receipts. Keep meticulous records and you are on your way to raising your bad credit score already!

Now, you need to start making sure that you make every payment that you are responsible for on time and every time. Late payments and missed payments are the single largest contributors to the development of bad credit scores.

Keep your credit cards at roughly 30% of their maximum limit and pay them off in full every month. The second most important variable in the credit score algorithm is the amount of gap between your maximum credit card limits and the amount that is actually being utilized. If you charge them up and then just pay the interest charges, it looks bad.

You have just learned some simple, yet very powerful techniques concerning how to raise a bad credit score! Now, you just need to be patient, diligent and responsible from here on out and you will begin to see those negative items dropping off and your bad credit score beginning to rise.