Understanding Your Credit Score,
Credit Repair Learning Center

In the event that a credit account had to be referred to a collections agency is the negative item that affects your credit score the most. By contract, you are expected to pay your bills before they become past due. Collections generally only occur when bills are paid extremely late. Whether you pay this late bill or not doesn't necessarily "fix" your credit and the damage done to it. It may show that the account was "paid in full" but the simple fact that you were turned over to collections in the first place will continue to negatively affect your good credit score.

A collection item on your credit report is an indication that you do not pay your bills on time.

On the other hand, if you feel that your account went to collection by error, it is recommended that you absolutely should dispute it in order to remove the collection from your credit report as it wasn't your fault in the first place. Furthermore, collections get sold too often and may then create even more than one negative collection item on your credit report. Since only one collection company can collect, you should identify who that company is and get the others removed from your report.

When money is owed to a creditor, they won't just forget about it. Typically you will have to pay them at least something. Many people with collections against them can negotiate a payoff amount agreed upon by both parties.

This is simply not true. When an item is deleted, it stays off forever. There is one exception to this rule; that if a creditor doesn't respond within thirty days, the credit bureau may remove the negative item temporarily or until a investigation is complete. But if your account is deemed erroneous, inaccurate or obsolete, this negative mark will be removed permanently. If after a 30-day period the creditor comes back with absolute proof that the processes used to report your negative credit mark were in fact followed correctly and accurately, only then the creditor may place that negative mark back onto your credit report as it appeared prior to its removal.

There are other instances where an account could be transferred or sold to a new creditor and appear under a new name on your credit report. This scenario isn't possible to avoid whatsoever. You can never predict which bank is buying which company and what accounts they might sell behind closed doors. Therefore, an old item you thought was erased simply could have been sold at the time you requested a dispute.

Our professional advice is simply this: to check your credit report and score annually as the government suggests and review it thoroughly! Stop problems before they get out of control.

Every type of negative listing has been successfully removed from tens of thousands of American citizens' credit reports. These negative items (bankruptcy, foreclosure, etc) require a specific approach during the dispute and investigation processes. They may be a bit more difficult to remove from your report, but they can be removed. Easier negative marks, such as Federal and State tax liens or judgments, are quite severe, just like a bankruptcy based on credit scoring, yet these types of items are far easier to get removed.

Mistakes are often made very easily; and many people have had accounts listed incorrectly when they filed their bankruptcy. There can be many explanations as to how the error appeared there in the first place, but if you feel the item is not an actual bankruptcy, foreclosure, or repossession item, you should absolutely employ your consumer right to have your account verified.

Well, Yes and No. Yes, you have the right to dispute anything you like on your credit report yourself. But getting the results is the tricky part. Disputing something takes almost zero effort, but going through and actually obtaining results from the process comes down to how organized and determined you are. Don't forget that credit bureaus are bureaucracies! The title is not just a coincidence. Credit bureaus are not a call center nor do they have customer-service hot-lines. You've got to be prepared to do some real work. And by that we mean mailing, calling, tracking, writing, verifying, following up, logging, or whatever your credit report requires you to do, based on the errors you'd like to be handled. In most cases, hiring qualified professionals to review your credit with you, right over the phone, is extremely valuable. After spending a few minutes with you going over your credit report via telephone most credit consultants can recommend your best course of action. They most likely will offer to send out dispute letters FOR you, since they are now in-the-know of your current situation and have most of the letters in a ready-to-go format. Obtaining results on your own can be very difficult if you're not professionally trained. The worst part of it is; if you attempt to fix your credit without the help of a credit repair expert, you may not be able to hire a professional in the future, due to the potential damage you could cause yourself and your credit. Saying the wrong words in a dispute letter could move you in reverse in the process of deleting errors in your credit report.

Mistakes are often made very easily; and many people have had accounts listed incorrectly when they filed their bankruptcy. There can be many explanations as to how the error appeared there in the first place, but if you feel the item is not an actual bankruptcy, foreclosure, or repossession item, you should absolutely employ your consumer right to have your account verified.

This is absolutely false! Declaring bankruptcy is the absolute worst thing you can do to your credit. Your credit report is based entirely on your likeliness that you will repay your debts combined with your ability to manage your credit. In the instance that you should "declare bankruptcy", you're literally announcing to the world that you're not able to pay your debts and have chosen "the easy way out". A filing date as well as a discharge date will show up in the "public records" area of your credit report. In addition, all credit accounts included in the bankruptcy will also report negatively on your report. Removing these items post-bankruptcy is almost impossible. However, if any errors should surface regarding your bankruptcy, these are, of course, always up for dispute.

Strategic Credit Repair of Corpus Christi's professional advice is to avoid bankruptcy at all costs and seek professional help immediately.

Mistakes are often made very easily; and many people have had accounts listed incorrectly when they filed their bankruptcy. There can be many explanations as to how the error appeared there in the first place, but if you feel the item is not an actual bankruptcy, foreclosure, or repossession item, you should absolutely employ your consumer right to have your account verified.

No creditor will seriously consider the information in a 100-word statement. You're extremely lucky if they get around to reading it and is usually a complete waste of time. These 100-word statements just provide the creditor with acknowledgment that you admit to the negative marks on your credit report and have some type of excuse for one or all of them.

This is entirely illegal and could result in imprisonment or fines far greater than the cost it would take to fix your bad credit score. Also, lying about your personal information on your credit application is a criminal offense.

This belief is false as well. It really doesn't matter how much good credit you've got. If you have negative marks on your credit report, it could negatively impact your credit score and could result in the denial or refusal of a personal loan, auto loan or mortgage. In many cases, any interest rate that you get approved for depend greatly on the items listed on your credit report. One negative item could increase your interest rates tremendously or get your loan denied entirely.

When it comes to good credit, you're stuck in control to manage your own credit. Most of all, you are expected to pay your bills on time and responsibly. Most loans and lines of credit come along with an agreement with terms outlined to pay your bill on time. If you fail to pay these on time, you have "not paid as agreed" and will ultimately lower your credit score.

If you balance your checkbook and develop good payment habits, you'll most likely avoid negative credit marks.

The Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) won't help fix your credit but they may help you manage your debts.

These Consumer Credit Counseling Services are debt counseling groups who work along with the credit grantors and credit bureaus. They are not able to change rules or change your credit history. These groups simply exist to help citizens renegotiate the terms of repayment for people having trouble repaying their debts.

In many cases, working with a CCCS will be noted on your credit report and is absolutely NOT a positive mark. Consequently, many creditors won't want to give you any further credit such as an auto loan or mortgage if you are using a third party service for debt management. They'll most likely view you as "not able" to manage debt on your own and having to pawn it off on an external party. We absolutely recommend that you consider other options before you have any debt managed by a CCCS.

Some of your options are: Refinance your mortgage to include your other debts. You can transfer your debts into a single loan and pay it off responsibly. You may defer your student loans for a year to give you ample time to pay off other loans. Another option is to borrow money from friends or family members in order to reduce your debt to a controllable level.

NOTE: The above suggestions assume that the overall payment will be reduced.

The law states that a negative item listed on your credit report must be present for no more than 7 years; and sometimes (in certain cases of bankruptcy, etc.) 10 years. This means that a creditor has the power to remove any negative item from your credit report within those seven years AT ANY TIME. Our task is to convince your creditors to do so; and as quickly as possible.

Be aware, trying to restore your own credit can be very demanding and extremely time consuming. There may be an extreme amount of paperwork involved, which requires immense organization. Before attempting to fix your credit score yourself, make sure you are dedicated, possess the required resources and have the drive to follow through to the end. Set the time aside in your schedule to do so. If this is something you're not absolutely committed to do, you may worsen your credit situation and make it virtually impossible for even professionals to fix your credit in the future.