There have been a lot of companies popping up lately with promises of repairing credit. In my opinion, as long as they make no promises of results, and doesn't charge an unreasonable amount of money, they probably are worth the fees. The question in my opinion is; how much is YOUR time worth? See a related article from the Federal Trade Commission.

If you are willing to invest an hour or so, most of what they will do for you for a fee, you can do for free. Especially now that the Internet has become so prevalent in our lives! Below I have outlined the process for disputing credit items. By law, it is incumbent to the REPORTER of the credit item to prove or "validate" the accuracy of the line item, not the consumers! (See the Fair Credit Reporting Act) However, if the consumer has irrefutable proof, then that makes the dispute all the more legitimate. Either way, most old derogatory, especially third party collection agencies will not spend the required time and money to drag files out of cold storage to validate an account that is years old!

Recently I obtained my own credit reports for free by visiting https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
this is the ONLY FREE site that DOES NOT REQUIRE PAYMENT! This is not to say they wont offer you credit monitoring services, etc, but you will not have to enter a credit card number in order to obtain your credit report. In fact, if you are asked for a credit card number, you have probably navigated away from this site.

I was amazed at how easy it was for me to obtain my credit reports right on the screen in from of me. I successfully answered a few challenge questions, assumable that only I would know and "whala" there was my credit report. Keep in mind the free report does not include my "credit score" see my earlier posts on that. but at the end of the day I am more concerned with the accuracy of the content of my report, not the score since the score is an overall rating of the content.

Once I accessed my report, I was easily able to navigate the report and if I found any disputes, I was able to with a click or two of my mouse, submit my dispute! Years ago, this would have taken months to accomplish the same thing! I would have had to written a letter, include a letter of credit denial from a lender, or submit a fee if I hadn't been denied, include a copy of my drivers license and social security card (never liked that bit). Mail it away to the respective bureaus and wait for their replies. Once the reports were received, they were often cryptic and difficult to decipher, even for a professional!

In all, I think it took me less than 15 minutes to access, review, print a copy for my records, and even dispute a line item in my credit bureau. What is your time worth? You decide. Below is a detailed method of obtaining and disputing items in your credit report .

Your credit report is a record of your credit activities. It lists all of your credit card accounts and loans, the balances as well as your payment history. It also shows if any action has been taken against you because of unpaid bills such as a lawsuit or bankruptcy filing. Because businesses use this information to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance and employment, it's important that the information in your report is complete and accurate, especially if you plan to make a big purchase like a home.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA),enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is designed to promote accuracy and ensure the privacy of the information used in consumer reports. Under the FCRA, both the credit reporting agency (CRA) and the organization that provided the information to the CRA (usually the credit card company) must correct any errors or incomplete information in your report.

If you do encounter a mistake on your credit report, several steps need to be taken to correct the matter:

1. The first thing to do is get a copy of your credit report from each of the three major CRAs: Equifax, http://www.equifax.com/; Experian, http://www.experian.com/; and TransUnion, http://www.tuc.com/.

I recommend; https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
this way you only need enter your information once.

2 Follow the instructions in each credit report for disputing an item, tell the CRA what information you believe to be inaccurate. Include copies (not originals) of documents that support your position. Provide your complete name and address, identify each item in your report you dispute, and request deletion or correction. Be sure to make copies of your dispute letter and enclosures.

3. If additional information is requested, send your letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you can document what the CRA received.

4. The FCRA mandates that all CRAs re-investigate the items in question - usually within 30 days - unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They also must forward all relevant data you provide about the dispute to the credit card company. After the credit card company receives notice of a dispute from the CRA, it must investigate, review all relevant information and report the results to the CRA.

5. If the disputed information is found to be inaccurate, the credit card company must notify all nationwide CRAs so they can correct this information in your file. Disputed information that cannot be verified must be deleted from your file.

6. When the reinvestigation is complete, the CRA must give you the written results and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change. If an item is changed or removed, the CRA cannot put the disputed information back in your file unless the credit card company verifies its accuracy and completeness, and the CRA gives you a written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the credit card company.

7. In addition to the CRA, you should also write to the credit card company about the error. Again, include copies of documents that support your dispute. If you are correct - meaning the information you disputed is found inaccurate - the credit card company cannot use it again. Further, at your request, the CRA must send notices of corrections to anyone who received your report in the past six months.

 If you have any questions or require additional information, dont hesitate to contact me directly .....Ricardo Cobos Your LOCAL Traverse City, Michigan Mortgage Lender