To file a dispute with Experian credit bureau you must write a dispute letter. When they receive your dispute letter they will investigate the disputed listing.

The first step though is to get a copy of your credit report. You can get a free credit report once a year from each credit bureau. I suggest you go to annual credit report, they will provide you with your free copy.

Once you have received your credit report you need to identify what marks are incorrect. These are going to be the marks that you will dispute.

You will dispute the items by creating your dispute letter and mailing it to Experian credit bureau. Once they receive your letter they will determine if it is valid or invalid.

If they find your letter invalid you will receive a letter from them asking for more details about the dispute. You should respond accordingly and provide them with the information.

If your dispute is valid then an investigation will be held into the mark. In an investigation the bureaus will contact the business that made the negative mark on your report and ask them to verify the debt, the dates and the balance.

It has been found that investigations will often result in a listing being removed. This is a result of many businesses being unwilling to spend the resources verifying disputed debts.

A credit repair service can also be hired to remove negative credit from your report. With this option you only need to identify the marks you wish to dispute and the service will do the rest.

In case an item is verified then a credit repair service can be very helpful because they have advanced dispute techniques. These include; creditor direct intervention, escalated dispute information requests, and debt validation.

If you only have minor damage on your report then I suggest repairing your credit yourself. However if you have multiple negative marks on your report I suggest a service. They can also help getting a valid dispute submitted to the bureaus.

Be aware that you must send a dispute letter to each credit bureau. If you do not you may remove a negative mark from your Experian credit report however this mark will still be on your Equifax and Transunion credit report.

In sum you can dispute Experian and have them remove negative credit from your credit report. You must either hire a service or dispute the listings yourself.

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An effective method to improve your credit score is to have an open unsecured mastercard or visa. This card should carry a monthly balance of about 10% of your credit limit.

In other words if your limit is $1,000 then try to keep the balance around $100. This shows the credit bureaus two things:

1. Your credit is being used.

2. Your ratio of available credit to debt is good.

This second factor is very important to the credit bureaus when calculating your score. This is a way you can show that you do have available unused credit.

Your score will increase just by showing the credit bureaus that you have credit that is not being used. You will receive the most benefit if this is an unsecured revolving line of credit.

Another tip, if your credit is to low to be approved for an unsecured credit card. Then ask a friend or relative with good credit to add you as an authorized user to their credit card account.

This is commonly referred to as piggyback credit. There have been recent reports that the credit bureaus are no longer going to give any credit score benefits to an authorized user.

However because of the size of the credit bureaus and how difficult it is to change credit scoring between all three credit bureaus this change will take time to implement. It is estimated that authorized user’s will still receive a benefit for the next 6-8 years.

If you choose this route then make sure that you trust the credit card account holder and their financial position. If this account goes delinquent or gets behind it will hurt your score.

The account holder just needs to call in to the credit card issuer and add you as an authorized user. This can all be done over the phone.

You then will have a copy of the credit card with your name on it mailed to your house. I recommend returning the credit card to the account holder.

The accounts’ details are then reported on the original account holders’ credit and yours. This way you receive the benefits of on time payments and available credit.

This method of building credit is in the process of being discounted. However for the time being it is by far the easiest and cheapest method to building positive credit.

A prepaid credit card is perfect for individuals than have little or no credit history. It is also a great alternative to a bank account.

This is how prepaid credit cards work; first you deposit funds into your account/card. You use your card to pay bills or make purchases. Then the funds are taken from your account to pay for the purchases.

You can deposit funds by a variety of methods including money gram, western union, and direct deposit. Using direct deposit you can save hundreds of dollars on check cashing fees. It is free to sign up and use direct deposit.

Most cards offer an additional feature that allows you to use your account just like a checking account. You can write physical checks to companies or individuals. This can be used to pay bills such as car insurance, cable or rent. This will save you money because you will no longer have the need to pay for money orders.

You can also use you card at ATM’s to access cash. You will never have to pay interest or overdraft fees with a prepaid credit card.

Some cards also offer a feature called credit builder. This service keeps track of the payments you make using bill pay. It then reports those payments to a credit reporting agency. This can help you build positive credit and prove credit worthiness to future lenders. This feature is free with most cards.

These cards will be issued as a visa or mastercard. This means your card will be accepted everywhere the visa or mastercard logo is displayed. You can also use your card online and over the phone. You card will not say prepaid on it so no one will ever no the difference between your card and an unsecured credit card or bank card.

Prepaid credit cards approve everyone. There is no credit check or chexsystems verification. Thus you will be approved no matter your credit history.

In sum, prepaid credit cards are safer than carrying cash. They can be used like any credit card. If you don’t have a bank account they are a great alternative and everyone is approved.

Many people want to know how long a negative notation will stay on their credit report. The answer to this is seven long years. If you have a bankruptcy or judgment the notation can stay on your report for up to ten years.

The majority of people fell like they have just been handed a long prison sentence. During this time they are afraid to move into a home or upgrade to a nicer car because they do not want to be charged outrageous interest rates.

Seven years – why?

Is a one time mistake with your credit really worthy of a seven year punishment? Why should you have to pay the outrageous cost of having a bad credit report, especially when it was just a brief time in your life? Do all the months of paying on time not count for anything?

Is there something about seven years that will make you credit worthy again? Have experts learned something about how after seven years have elapsed that makes me more deserving of credit?

Of course not, there is no good reason whatsoever for the seven year reporting law. It is a completely arbitrary time limit.

Did you know that before the Fair Credit Reporting Act the credit bureaus had no time limit to how long a negative mark could remain on your credit report? In reality a negative mark remained on your credit report forever.

Finally, Congress placed a time limit on the bureaus. Please do not be confused that seven years is how long an item must remain on your credit. Seven years is the reporting maximum.

Congress made it illegal for credit bureaus to report a bad credit mark for longer than seven years. Frequently people have successfully had a negative mark removed long before the seven year time limit.

Creditors and collection agencies are not required to report a listing. This is completely voluntary on behalf of the creditors and collection agencies. Furthermore creditors and collection agencies have often removed negative marks before the seven year limit.

Often creditors and collection agencies just need some encouragement from a good credit repair attorney or a compelling credit dispute letter. In addition, the credit bureaus themselves perform a form of credit repair at the seven year point.

In a perfect world there would be no arbitrary reporting limit. Instead, marks would remain as long as they bore the true characteristics of the applicant. Credit information would provide accurate indications of our credit worthiness and not just give the banker an excuse to jack up interest rates so they can earn a bigger profit.

The point is since we don’t live in that world, why should we wait to repair our credit? Why shouldn’t we take steps today to erase questionable and misleading information from our credit report? This way we don’t have to pay the high cost of bad credit longer than we have to?

If you are cleaning up your credit report then you understand the importance of your credit score. Your credit score can impact your lifestyle more than by how much money you make.

With a low credit score you may be getting turned away from jobs you are qualified for. You also are experiencing difficulty getting approval for car loans or credit cards. When you do receive approval it is with stomach churning interest rates.

If you learn how the credit system works than you can use that knowledge to better your credit score. With a higher credit score you will be able to make the purchases you want or have extra money because you are not spending it on high interest rates.

The credit bureaus use a mathematical equation to determine your credit score. The bureau puts your credit information into a computer and the computer spits out your credit score.

Your credit score is a way for lenders and employers to measure you. Lenders will often not look at any other factor other than your credit score when you apply for a credit line. You credit score determines how the credit world perceives you.

How can you use the credit system to your benefit? You need to know there are two pieces of information that are most important to the systems equation.

1. Delete negative inaccurate accounts. Derogatory credit items do the most damage to your score and should be removed as soon as possible.

2. Keep an unsecured revolving line of credit. This can be done by almost anyone.

The credit bureaus equation is kept secret and not released to the public. However after review of thousands of credit files it has been learned that having an open unsecured line of credit is just as important as removing negative items.

The reason an unsecured revolving line of credit helps your credit score is because:

1. Every time you pay your bill you are creating positive payment history. Just so you know the credit bureaus like this account to be aged or open for some time.

2. Helps your ratio of debt to available credit. This means the more credit you have that is not being used you score will be higher.

The credit line will help your score the most if it is unsecured. However depending upon where your credit score is you may need to get a secured credit card which guarantees approval for everyone.

A credit line will help build credit however it is most important to remove bad credit items. If you are unable to get approval for new credit immediately and don’t want a secured credit line then remove bad credit and then reapply.

It is possible for everyone to achieve a 700 credit score for themselves. So start today and erase the derogatory marks and build positive marks on your credit report.

A charge off is a very detrimental mark for your credit score. Having this on your credit history will make getting approved for a new credit line very difficult.

On occasions when you do get approved, you will pay much higher interest rates or have to make a large down payment. This is the penalty the credit system imposes on people when they can not pay their debts.

This system does not recognize that catastrophic events occur. When someone is faced with the decision of feeding their family or making a payment, the choice is obvious.

Credit bureaus have caused a false belief that when a charge off happens there is no recourse for the individual. That person will have to pay the high interest rates and large deposits for 7 or more years. This is not true.

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act any inaccurate or unverifiable listing must be corrected by the credit bureau. Often creditors are not willing to spend the money or time to verify non collectable debts.

Thus, when an investigation is granted the negative listing is often deleted regardless of accuracy. The difficulty we hear of comes in getting the investigation started.

This happens because the credit bureaus only motive to conduct an investigation is to be compliant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The bureaus don’t earn any extra money from conducting an investigation and instead spend money that would otherwise be profit.

Credit bureaus are notorious for using stall tactics, this is done to discourage and frustrate the individual. The goal of the credit bureaus is to force the individual into giving up on the dispute process. Many people have frequently found it more effective to hire a professional firm to deal with the credit bureaus on their behalf.

A judgment on your credit report means you have been sued for payment of a debt. It is a legal proceeding that will give the creditor extra time to try and collect on the debt.

A judgment gives the debt collector up to 20 years to collect on a debt. This is beyond the 7 year statue of limitations that applies to most debts. Often judgments are granted on unsecured debts.

A new tactic that debt collectors have been using is renewing judgments. This gives the debt collectors an additional 20 years to try and collect payment after the first 20 years. This makes it possible for a judgment to follow you for the rest of your life.

A judgment will drastically reduce your credit score. Be aware that paying a judgment will not remove it from your credit report.

When you pay a judgment the listing will change to a satisfied judgment. This is still a negative mark and will hurt your credit score.

To remove a judgment from your credit report you should dispute the judgment. This means you are disputing the validity or accuracy of the judgment.

This is done directly with the credit bureaus. It is done by writing a credit repair letter to dispute the judgment.

If the judgment is not verified then it must be removed by the credit bureaus. It has been found that when negative listings are disputed they are often removed.

This happens because it costs the debt collectors money to verify a listing. Typically debt collectors do not want to spend money verifying listings.

It will be difficult to get the credit bureaus to actually conduct an investigation into your dispute. This is because it costs the credit bureaus money to conduct investigations.

This is the reason why credit repair services are often hired to dispute listings on behalf on an individual.

A lot of credit repair companies say they can fix any credit report. All the person has to do is hire the company and their credit problems are fixed. Is this true?

Unfortunately no, it’s not. There are fraudulent credit repair companies that prey on people with bad credit. It is said that fraudulent companies have taken over 50 million dollars from the consumers.

The reason for this is when your credit is damaged you pay high costs on new credit lines. Frequently people become desperate for a way to escape these high costs.

What about guarantees? When a credit repair company makes a guarantee you should use extreme caution. This company is probably a phony and only interested in collecting money from you, not actually repairing your credit.

Some credit repair companies are legit and can be trusted. These companies will battle to have your negative listings removed and your credit repaired. They are usually more powerful in getting the credit bureaus to respond to a dispute. This is because they are familiar with the credit bureaus and the tactics the bureaus use to avoid investigations.

When looking for a credit repair company, look for warranties or refunds if results don’t occur instead of guarantees. Also do your homework and see what is being said about the potential company by other people.

Credit bureaus are very resistant to the dispute process because it goes against the purpose of the bureaus. The bureaus purpose is to assign a numerical value based on past behavior to predict your future repayment behavior. As well it costs the credit bureaus potential profits when they conduct investigations into a dispute.

If you are tired of paying for a mistake made in the past I recommend repairing your credit. It is a good idea to hire a credit repair company that can throw their weight around and force the credit bureau to respond to the dispute process. I recommend Lexington Law firm they have been in business for over 15 years with proven results.