Where to Learn Credit Repair?

How Do I Learn Credit Repair in a Shorter Amount of Time

Are you looking for where to learn credit repair? Let me start by telling you that I tried to do it and learn it myself when I had to repair my credit. 

That lasted about a month. It is not that it couldn’t be done, but I realized it would take a REALLY long time. 

I then discovered a solid credit repair company that cleaned up my credit over some time. To be exact, they removed 104 NEGATIVE items impacting my score. There are a few very reputable credit repair companies that do this work well.

Long story short, the real estate crash of 2008 brought that type of credit report situation on for me. 

So they took a very challenging case and removed the negative items over time. 

So instead of spending thousands of hours and managing routine administrative tasks, I was able to pass it off and free myself of that not-so-fun burden. 

In a nutshell, I cut out MONTHS of learning and error by managing the company that did ALL the work!

But I digress…first, let’s start with an overview of the process shall we.

Here Are Some Basics to Learn About Credit Repair: 

Before we get started, keep in mind, that the three major credit bureaus have lots of good information to learn about the process online.

Surviving with a bad credit score is possible, but not easy as it may sound. Moreover, it is a costly mistake that can haunt you in the future. 

Having a good credit score translates to financial freedom. You can save more money and attract low-interest rates on loans and credit cards. 

If you run a business, you understand how loans and business credit cards can come through if you have to restock your supplies within short notice. 

In addition, lower interest rates mean you can pay off debts faster.

Other benefits of having an outstanding credit score include higher loan limits and more negotiating power.

 In the U.S., if your credit score is below 720, many financial institutions consider it sub-prime. And if the credit score goes beyond 650, you have all the reasons to get worried. 

The best way of getting yourself out of that situation is by doing a credit repair. Other reasons that could prompt you to look at credit repair include:

• High-interest rates on loans.
• Closure of credit cards by issuers.
• Harassment for credit collectors. 

Sometimes, even landlords may refuse to rent you if your credit score and history are wanting.

 This article breaks down the process, including how and where to learn credit repair. 

We also included answers to the frequently asked credit repair questions at the end of the article. 

Credit Repair: The Definition

Credit repair involves correcting the mistakes and errors that reflect inaccurate information on your credit score. Briefly, the whole process cleans up your credit report, and in a matter of time, your score will likely improve. 

So, why would you need to repair credit? 

Sometimes, the credit bureau may include an item in your credit report that you think is inaccurate. If you send a formal complaint letter to the bureau and they fail to respond within 30 days, they must remove the item. 

A prevalent mistake that the bureau may include would be late payment, even if you remit the money on time. In that case, this mistake will impact your credit score negatively, which you can’t afford if you rely on credit cards and quick loans. 

 The credit repair process is legal in the U.S. embedded in the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This act binds the credit bureau to give fair, consistent, and accurate information on your credit report. 

Thus, if you suspect any inaccuracy, you have the entitlement to request an investigation and rectify the mistakes. 

Repairing Your Credit in Simple Steps

 You’re in the right place if you are trying to figure out how and where to learn credit repair. 

Follow these steps: 

 1. Generate a Copy of Your Credit Report

 First, you’ll need to have a copy of your credit report, either hard or soft. Generating a soft copy is fast than requesting a hard one from the bureau. Downloading the credit report from a federally-mandated site is free. 

You can do that at annualcreditreport.com. The process is fast, and you can get it done in less than 15 minutes. 

It is also to possible to get a FREE credit report through Experian and Lexington Law (which is the credit repair company that I personally used). 

But as far as annualcreditreport.com, you only need to confirm the answers to your set security questions for identity verification, and you’re good to go. 

If you want a hard copy, you can mail you’re a formal letter to P.O. Box 105281Atalanta, GA 30348-5281. Also, you can request a hard copy of your credit report by calling the organization at 877-322-8228. 

You can download up to three credit reports on the Annual Credit Report portal. These reports are from the three credit bureaus licensed in the U.S., including TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. 

If you want the scores in addition to the credit report, in my opinion it is better to go with Experian. 

Each bureau maintains separate propriety credit reports. After answering the security questions, the portal will redirect you to download all the copies.

 2. Review the Report for Any Errors and Inconsistencies

 After generating your report, you now want to review everything and ensure all the posted information is accurate and consistent.

Negative errors on the report are the ones likely impacting your credit score. If you hire a company for a nominal monthly fee, they would focus their attention. 

Thus, doing it yourself, you would want to focus on this for a while. 

In addition to that, watch out for the following:

 • Personal Information Errors

 Any mistake in your information details means the report is not yours. You need to very all the information you use on applying for credit cards and loans, including any name variation such as aliases, previous addresses, and even your Social Security Number. 

 • Payment History Inconsistencies

 The bureau has no reasons to report that you missed a specific payment deadline while you did it on time. If there are any errors in your payment history, you need to remove them as soon as possible. 

 • Expired Items

 Every financial woe, such as bankruptcy, has an end if you get your things together. However, the bureau might still include these negative items on your report even after your clear. Other negative, expired items to watch out for in the credit information include foreclosures, judgments, or liens. 

 • Duplicate Accounts

 You also need to check whether the credit report includes duplicate accounts. For instance, the bureau may indicate that you have to mortgage accounts while you only owe one account. 

 • Outdated Account Statuses 

 Outdated account balances may reflect an inaccurate balance of your debt. If you fail to dispute the mistake, it will suggest a delinquent debt more debt than you owe. The longer the error stays unresolved, the worse your credit score gets. 

 • Unauthorized Hard Credit Inquiries 

 As noted, there are two credit report inquiries, soft and hard copy. The bureau lists these inquiries in the report. 

 However, if you didn’t authorize any of the hard copy requests in the report, you need to remove them because it can impact your credit score. 

 Kindly note that not all the negatively listed items on your credit report are illegitimate. If something is true and accurate, you can’t dispute or remove it. 

Fortunately, you can wait until the penalties expire. If you’re not sure, contact a professional to ask all your credit repair questions. This is what I would do as they know the ins and outs of the law better. 

 3. File a Complaint to Dispute the Mistakes

 The next step involves disputing the mistakes with the bureau. Disputing is the most critical and labor-intensive step in repairing your credit. You have to get it right for the bureau to rectify the errors in your report. 

If you fail to dispute correctly, the bureau may refuse to remove the mistake, meaning the negative items will still impact your score.

 So, how do you file the dispute? Some people may prefer to contact the original creditor before reaching out to the bureau. The creditor can help solve the problem quickly and save you from the hassle of writing numerous letters. 

However, suppose the original creditor doesn’t respond as you want. In that case, you can submit a formal complaint by writing to the bureau. You can use a sample letter from the Federal Trade Commission to generate a template for making the dispute. 

Before mailing the letter, it will help to attach evidence to substantiate the errors. Also, don’t forget to send the letter with “return receipt requested” because you would want to verify whether the bureau received the letter. 

 Once the bureau confirms the receipt of your letter, they have up to 30 days to respond to the disputes. The bureau usually contacts the original information issuer or credit company to verify the disputed item. 

Suppose the credit company fails to authenticate the dispute. In that case, the bureau will delete the error from the report and send you a free copy for confirmation. 

In that case, you would want to request the bureau to notify everyone who asked for your report within the previous six months, including employers. 

 If the bureau doesn’t resolve the dispute in your favor, you can put down a note on the report explaining the error. However, the consumer statement won’t be beneficial because most credit companies won’t read the information. 

In that case, you’ll be better off retaining a credit repair company to represent you. Again, you can reach out to the Federal Trade Commission for more answers to your credit repair questions.

 4. File More Disputes

 Some people may have one, while others have even ten errors in their credit reports. If you do frequent credit repairs, you can finish the dispute in one round. 

However, if it’s your first time doing this, you’ll have to write a couple of letters. We recommend having at most five disputes in a single complaint letter. 

In addition to that, you’ll need to contact each bureau separately because they don’t share corrections. Moreover, each bureau might have different answers to your credit repair questions. In that case, it means going through the dispute three times. 

 Most importantly, ensure that you keep a log of all the disputes made and correspondences received. Doing this will be helpful in case you need to involve a credit repair company in the end. If you’re looking to learn credit repair, the above information will be beneficial. 

Avoiding Scam By Third-Party Companies

 Even though it is legal to hire a third-party company to make the disputes on your behalf, it is possible to become a victim of credit repair scams in the process. So the natural question is are credit repair companies legit? The answer is yes. But, how can you tell they are legit?

The number of credit scam repairs is pretty alarming in the U.S. That is another reason to retain a well-established credit repair company to repair your credit. 

They often have teams of attorneys on staff with the expertise to handle your situation. 

That means the attorney has a valid license to practice in your residence state before authorizing them to make the dispute on your behalf. 

 Also, the service provider should answer all your credit repair questions and explain the following:

 • The expected duration before getting the results

 • The total cost of credit repair work

 • A money-back guarantee, if applicable 

 • Your legal rights with regards to the services

How to Prevent a Third-Party Repair Scam

 Are you interested in where to learn credit repair and avoid scams? Many fraudulent companies out there prey for your hard money, but that doesn’t mean you make it easy to become their victim. 

If you’re looking for a place to learn credit repair, try hiring a credit repair company and then learning at an expedited rate from them with a nominal monthly fee. 

This will save you thousands of man-hours. Before you hire them, adhere to the following tips before signing up or paying for the services:

 • Ask for an attorney to file the dispute on your behalf

 • Don’t fall for guarantees that claim to improve your credit score

 • Be wary of advice that sounds illegal

 • Don’t pay any upfront fees if there is no money-back guarantee

Frequently Asked Credit Repair Questions (FAQs) 

The most asked credit repair questions by consumers include: 

Is it Advisable to Review One or All the Three Credit Reports?

The Fair Credit Report Act indicates that consumers can only download a single copy of their report every year. You might have to pay for the report beyond this frequency.

 So, how do you do it conveniently? We recommend dealing with one bureau at a time, mainly if you do annual credit repairs. The easiest way though is to go with a company like Experian to get ALL three credit reports AND all three scores. 

How Long Does It Take to Repair My Credit?

Handling a SINGLE dispute is different from repairing several items on your credit profile. 

Generally, for a dispute, it will take the credit bureau about 30 to 41 days before responding, depending on how soon they receive your letter. You only give a timeframe after the bureau confirms the receipt of your letter. 

However, the higher the number of disputes, the longer it will likely take the bureau to resolve the errors in your report. Repairing credit is a patience game, the more you have to deal with, the longer it will take. 

Will Credit Repair Improve My Score?

 Well, this is one of the most prevalent credit repair questions. In most cases, credit repair will improve your score. However, that is not the ONLY goal of the whole process. 

Credit repair intends to ensure that all the information reflected on your report is accurate and up-to-date. 

Improving your credit score is just the “feel good” effect of the whole process. 

Also, you can’t do a credit repair and expect the process to raise your credit score to a specific value. Your score depends on the number of penalties and credit history. 

How Can I Make a Dispute? Online or By Phone?

First, it is imperative to note that you can request a credit report by phone, but not the dispute. That said, all credit bureaus have online platforms for initiating formal disputes. 

Making disputes online is fast, easy, and more affordable than sending mail. 

Even so, we recommend going the traditional way of filing disputes through certified letters. That way, the chances of succeeding are high. 

Also, it makes it easy to track all your correspondences with the bureau or creditors. 

Repair Your Credit Today

 Don’t let the mistakes and inaccuracies in your credit report drag down your score and affect your finances. It can be frustrating when every lender turns you down when facing financial constraints in your business. 

It even gets worse when you can only access loans at exorbitant interest rates; you’ll only make the lender richer. 

Fortunately, you have the right and opportunity to put all these financial woes to an end. You have the entitled to review and dispute any information on your credit report that you believe is inaccurate. 

We hope this article gives answers to all your credit repair questions. It makes a resourceful place where to learn credit repair. 

Use the information provided to understand how credit repair works, but think long and hard about doing it yourself. If it was me, I would learn through hiring the right credit repair company as I did with Lexington Law.