Is Credit Restoration Legal?
Absolutely. The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows anyone to dispute inaccurate items on their credit reports. The FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) and the FDCPA (Fair Debts Collections Practices Act) were designed to protect your rights, and initiated to hold creditors and credit agencies legally responsible for all claims they make against you. Any inaccurate, incomplete, outdated or unverifiable accounts must be removed or corrected.
How Long Does the Process Take?
Everyone’s credit situation is completely different, so how long it takes for you to achieve your expected results depends on the number of derogatory credit items on your reports, your participation in getting credit reports to us, your ability to pay overdue debt, and the level of credit bureau cooperation. We will do our part by performing a comprehensive evaluation of your credit reports and creating dispute letters based on the results, usually within 48 hours from the date we receive them. Most of the wait-time after is usually spent waiting for the credit bureaus or creditors to respond.
How Much WIll You Increase My Credit Score?
Many of our clients have seen an increase of 100 points or more*; however, the actual amount will vary per customer. There are many factors that affect a credit score besides derogatory items. For example, the ability to pay down revolving debt, the type of credit you have, your length of credit history, even the number of inquiries on your credit file. It is especially important that no current accounts fall into a negative status.
How Long Will It Take the Credit Agencies to Respond After I Send Them My Dispute Letter?
You will receive updated credit reports from all three credit agencies within 30 to 45 days. At that time you will see what was deleted, updated or revised. Please forward these updated credit reports to us so that we can continue working on the remaining items. If the credit agency does not respond to your dispute letter, do not be alarmed, a new dispute letter will be generated when your file is reviewed by our processing team.
Will the Credit Agencies Respond to All of the Disputes I Send Them?
The credit agencies are required by law to respond to all correspondence. It is not uncommon for credit agencies to send letters stating they want more information, or that they will not re-verify an account. These types of responses are very common and customers should not be alarmed if they receive them. You must have patience, because the credit agencies make their money by providing credit reports to lenders, not by answering dispute letters. Customers must continue to send all correspondence they receive from the agencies to our processing team.
When I Receive My Dispute Letter, Can I Make Changes and Add Information?
Absolutely, any additional information that you would like to provide will help expedite the credit restoration process. Simply write on the dispute letter any changes or additional information you may have regarding any specific account, and forward it to our processing team. The processing team will make the necessary corrections on the dispute letter and forward you a revised copy to send to the credit agencies. Remember, this is a partnership.
What Type of Changes Would be Helpful?
Victims of identity theft, individuals with credit files crossed with other family members – these are the type of issues that should be addressed with specific verbiage on the dispute letters.
How Can I Check My Progress?
Every 60 days, your file will be reviewed. Based on the documentation received from you, (credit report updates and letters from creditors) a new dispute will be generated and forwarded to you to review. Along with the new dispute document, you will receive a status update report showing the progress and deletion of accounts to date. The client portal is the most important tool a customer can have. Your client portal is safe, private and exclusive to you. You can access your client portal 24/7 for an up-to-date account status.
Can I Restore My Own Credit?
Yes, you can. You can also represent yourself in a court of law, and do your own oil changes on your vehicles. There’s nothing we do that you cannot do yourself when it comes to fixing your credit situation. Individuals can restore their credit on their own but this can take time and a lot of knowledge when it comes to the credit laws. We are a service company. We offer experienced, professional help at very affordable rates for your convenience and benefit.
What is A Credit Score?
A credit score is a number that reflects your risk level, as an individual, to a lender. The higher the number, the lower the risk will be to the lender. As you apply for increased credit or attempt to make a purchase, the lender will check your ability to pay back that loan. The more negative marks you have on your credit report, the less likely you will be granted the loan or purchase you requested.
Do All Three Credit Bureaus Report the Same Information?
Depending on which lender you go through will determine which credit bureau the item will appear on. It could be one, two or all three bureaus.
How Long Do Negative Items Stay on a Credit Report?
Negative credit accounts, or trade lines, can remain on your credit report for up to 7 years, and bankruptcies and other public records for up to 10 years. Inquiries on your credit report may remain for 2 years. These are the maximum times that are permitted by federal law for reporting agencies to show negative items; however, these times are not mandatory. At any time, a creditor or credit bureau may remove a derogatory remark from your credit report if the consumer requests an investigation into remarks that they feel are incorrect.