What is Credit Repair and How Can It Help You?

There are millions of consumer credit reports on file from mainly three major reporting bureaus which include Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax. These credit gathering agencies store huge amounts of data about every person that takes out a loan, credit card, or any other line of credit. Information is reported to these credit bureaus when you apply for credit, apply for some jobs, or even apply for an insurance policy.

Because of the huge amounts of data being gathered and reported there is a lot of room for errors. Credit Repair is a way of disputing or correcting these errors made by credit bureaus and creditors. Credit Repair can also be a way of optimizing your credit report or credit score.

Disputing, correcting and deleting erroneous negative accounts on your credit report is very important to your financial well being. The better your credit report the better your credit score. The better your credit score the better the interest rates you will be offered. For example: A 30 year home mortgage of $100,000 will cost you almost $25,000 more from just 1% of interest! This 1% more of interest could be from only one late payment on your credit report!

It's not just home mortgages lenders that raise your interest rates. It's just about every other type of loan out there including: auto loans, credit cards, personal loans, and business loans. Even insurance companies are now using your credit scores to figure premiums.

Now with this in mind start thinking about all the extra money you are paying because your credit report is less than perfect. Credit Repair is starting to sound better and better isn't it?

To repair items in your credit report you must get a copy of your reports from each of the credit reporting bureaus either by mail or internet. Make copies for your records. Then very carefully go over your reports and find any negative accounts. Highlight the negative items to be disputed. Send the highlighted copies with a letter describing each account and why you are disputing them (not my account, never late, outdated, etc.) to each of the credit bureaus. Be sure to tell the bureau what you want done with the account if it is not verified (delete it, correct it, update it etc.)

The credit bureaus must investigate these items and if they can't verify them within 30 days they must be deleted or corrected. The credit bureaus themselves have to get verification from the creditor of the account in dispute. Often times the creditor does not have the records to show or verify that the account is indeed accurate or that it even exists.

You can now see how disputing negative items can get them deleted or corrected on your credit report. You can even change negative items to positive items by simply telling the credit bureau that the items in dispute are in fact yours but they were never late.

If you have errors or negative items on your credit report using credit repair to fix these accounts can save you thousands of dollars. Credit repair is a valuable tool of personal finance.

Scott Brown is a fair credit reporting advocate and the author of his own website Credit Repair, a free information site dedicated to help consumers repair bad credit and optimize their credit reports and credit scores. For more indepth information on the above topic please visit Credit Repair.