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Credit Repair

Credit repair for past credit card debt requires study and planning to be successful.  This chapter lays out the basic principles, some pitfalls to avoid and some basics of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FRCA).  There are links here to more detailed information and sample credit repair letters. 

The Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs)
Everyone has a credit report in their name, or three to be exact; one each from the three credit reporting agencies (CRAs), Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.  These three for-profit entities gather credit data on consumers that they then sell to their customers who are credit card companies, banks and other consumer lenders.  These lending customers also report back to one of more of the CRAs on individual credit events that occur with each of the consumers they have lent money to.

Each monthly payment, credit cards and others, (late or on time), each loan approval or rejection, each debt collection, as well as bankruptcies and judgments are all credit events that get reported. These negative events remain on your credit report for seven years plus 180 days from the date of first delinquency (DOFD).  Bankruptcies are there for ten years. Judgments can be longer. In addition to reporting the detail of these events, especially the negative ones, each of the three CRAs compiles a credit rating from the sum of these events using a complicated formula referred to as a FICO score.

Those who educate themselves first and then attempt to repair their credit usually succeed in raising their credit score.  

Learn how with the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide.

Chapter 9: Credit Repair

The Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs)
Accessing Your Credit Reports
Opting Out
How Credit Repair Works
The Other Side of Credit Repair
Repairing Your Credit
Understanding Your Credit Reports
Disputing with the CRAs
Disputing with Reporters of Information Appearing on Your Credit Report
Credit Repair Letters
As you prepare to repair your credit . . . a checklist
Useful Credit Repair Links