What I am about to share with you is what I believe to be the most valuable tool for credit-challenged people. It’s a website that will give you just about all you need to improve credit.
Our credit scores determine so much for us that one slip up and scores drop. But it’s not as simple as that – the fact is that the three major credit-reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax and Trans Union are not reliable. For the most part they are merely databases collecting information that creditors provide. So what if the creditors report incorrectly? Well, tough luck! The bureaus go by what they get from creditors and collection agencies.
But we can report errors, right?
Let me tell you what I found out the hard way. In layman’s terms, this is how the conversation goes:
Tchaka: Hey Bureau, Company X is wrong, I was never late on that account.
Bureau: Ok, we will investigate your claim.
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Bureau: Company X, was Tchaka ever late on his account?
Company X: Yes, he was 30-days late in November.
Bureau: Thank you.
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Bureau: Tchaka, we verified the account and you were 30-days late in November.
Ok, so it doesn’t transpire as a conversation, rather it’s a dispute, electronic transmissions and so forth. But the point I’m making is that the so-called dispute resolution is worthless. The vast majority of the time you get nowhere. One day I might blog about my grandfather’s Amex that showed up on my credit which I disputed. Equifax responded with a letter that says they verified the account and it is mine. Even though the credit report listed my DOB, the month and year the Amex was opened (4 years before I was born) and the fact that my grandfather was no longer alive – it even said account holder deceased on the report. But Equifax deemed it to be my account. Any more questions?
So what’s my secret? Go to www.creditboards.com and sign up. It’s that simple.
CreditBoards is a bulletin board that has sections including Credit, Mortgage, Automobile Buying/Leasing, Business Credit, Student Loans and so forth. Members share information on how to successfully deal with the bureaus, collection agencies, etc. The days of paying a company $400 to dispute your blemishes are over. The bureaus look out for frivolous disputes so save your money, get on CreditBoards and start reading. I cannot stress this enough. I have sent a number of clients there and will continue to do so. Other loan officers should do the same. Realtors, if you have a credit-challenged buyer, instead of dropping him, refer him to CreditBoards and revisit in 6-months. Chances are you'll be pleasantly surprised.
- Tchaka Owen
http://tchakaowen.blogspot.com/
PS - Right after posting this, I noticed Julia Segovia (ActiveRain member) also posted on improving scores. Her post is http://activerain.com/blogsview/42875/Tips-for-Improving-your
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