If you need to dispute a late payment, collection, charge-off, or other negative item on your credit report, you can’t afford to make a mistake. If you do, you could inadvertently “cement” that negative into your report for a very long time.
This is why Mr. Pat Fasano, who I consider to be the #1 credit expert in the world, told me, “If they have already sent in a dispute for their bad credit, then most often, I won’t take them on as a client.”
The work Mr. Fasano, the owner and founder of Correct Credit Company, Inc. does is nothing short of phenomenal. But he cannot work his magic if the consumer has already muddied the waters by disputing online or sending in a statement that shoots himself or herself in the foot.
“Please remove this late payment because…
… I was sick and in the hospital,
… I was traveling and my mother was supposed to pay the bill, but she didn’t,
… I never got the bill,
… and so on…
THESE WILL NOT WORK! They will only serve to muddy the waters and make the negative item stick like glue.
Look at this legal verbiage about how creditors are to handle credit disputes:
If your investigation determines the dispute was incomplete, frivolous, or that the dispute has been investigated before, you must notify the consumer not later than five business days after making that determination.
WARNING: Do not dash off a quick online dispute or letter without knowing how to properly execute a legal dispute that will work!
If you would like the contact information for Correct Credit Company, Inc., send me an email through my page here. (A Google search will turn up the voice mail, not the phone number for a live person.)
If you want to save yourself the price of hiring a professional, then you have the right to conduct the credit repair work yourself. Just make certain you do it properly or correctly. All the instructions are clearly laid out in Repair Your Credit Like the Pros.
Either way, remember that reporting negative information that is incomplete, out-of-date, false, or unverified is illegal. The credit bureaus must adhere to the Fair and Accurate Credit Reporting Act by removing all such negative items.