Credit Repair Information

If you are interested in repairing your credit on your own, you
should find all the information you need to do so on this site. If,
however, you are like most people and would likely forget to follow
every step or just do not have the time necessary to devote to cleaning
up your credit, we recommend Credit Unlimited for credit repair
services. They cost $199 to start up, and $49/month there after. If you
think about how much money you could save by having a higher credit
score, the cost is minimal. For most customers, it takes only 6-12
months to get their credit score up high enough to see a dramatic
improvement in the loans available to them.

If you are interested, these are the things you will need:

. Credit that you want to improve.

. $199 to get started. Methods of payment: Credit Card/Debit
Card/or Account Number & Routing Number from your Checking
account(bottom of check).

. A phone so that you can answer their call.

If that works for you, Click Here.

Quoted from http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/repair.shtm:

Credit Repair: Self Help May Be Best

Credit Repair: Self Help May Be Best

You see the advertisements in
newspapers, on TV, and on the Internet. You hear them on the radio. You
get fliers in the mail. You may even get calls from telemarketers
offering credit repair services. They all make the same claims:

• “Credit problems? No problem!”
• “We can erase your bad credit — 100% guaranteed.”
• “Create a new credit identity — legally.”
• “We can remove bankruptcies, judgments, liens, and bad loans from your credit file forever!”

Do yourself a favor and save some money, too. Don’t believe these
statements. Only time, a conscious effort, and a personal debt
repayment plan will improve your credit report.

This brochure explains how you can improve your creditworthiness and gives legitimate resources for low or no-cost help.

The Scam

Everyday, companies nationwide appeal
to consumers with poor credit histories. They promise, for a fee, to
clean up your credit report so you can get a car loan, a home mortgage,
insurance, or even a job. The truth is, they can’t deliver. After you
pay them hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees, these companies do
nothing to improve your credit report; most simply vanish with your
money.

The Warning Signs

If you decide to respond to a credit repair offer, look for these tell-tale signs of a scam:

• companies that want you to pay for credit repair services before they provide any services.
• companies that do not tell you your legal rights and what you can do for yourself for free.
• companies that recommend that you not contact a credit reporting company directly.
• companies that suggest that you try to invent a “new” credit
  identity — and then, a new credit report — by applying for an Employer
  Identification Number to use instead of your Social Security number.
• companies that advise you to dispute all information in your credit
  report or take any action that seems illegal, like creating a new
  credit identity. If you follow illegal advice and commit fraud, you may
  be subject to prosecution.

You could be charged and prosecuted for
mail or wire fraud if you use the mail or telephone to apply for credit
and provide false information. It’s a federal crime to lie on a loan or
credit application, to misrepresent your Social Security number, and to
obtain an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue
Service under false pretenses.
Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies
cannot require you to pay until they have completed the services they
have promised.

The Truth

No one can legally remove accurate and
timely negative information from a credit report. The law allows you to
ask for an investigation of information in your file that you dispute
as inaccurate or incomplete. There is no charge for this. Everything a
credit repair clinic can do for you legally, you can do for yourself at
little or no cost. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA):

• You’re entitled to a free report if a company takes adverse action
  against you, like denying your application for credit, insurance, or
  employment, and you ask for your report within 60 days of receiving
  notice of the action. The notice will give you the name, address, and
  phone number of the consumer reporting company. You’re also entitled to
  one free report a year if you’re unemployed and plan to look for a job
  within 60 days; if you’re on welfare; or if your report is inaccurate
  because of fraud, including identity theft.
• Each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax,
  Experian, and TransUnion — is required to provide you with a free copy
  of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.
  The three companies have set up a central website, a toll-free
  telephone number, and a mailing address through which you can order
  your free annual report. To order, click on annualcreditreport.com,
  call 1-877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form
  and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281,
  Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. You can print the form from ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/ .
  Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies
  individually. They are providing free annual credit reports only
  through annualcreditreport.com, 1-877-322-8228, and Annual Credit
  Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. You
  may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer
  reporting companies at the same time, or you can order your report from
  each of the companies one at a time. For more information, see Your
  Access to Free Credit Reports at ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/ .
  Otherwise, a consumer reporting company may charge you up to $9.50 for another copy of your report within a 12-month period.
• You can dispute mistakes or outdated items for free. Under the
  FCRA, both the consumer reporting company and the information provider
  (that is, the person, company, or organization that provides
  information about you to a consumer reporting company) are responsible
  for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. To
  take advantage of all your rights under this law, contact the consumer
  reporting company and the information provider.

STEP ONE

Tell the consumer reporting company, in
writing, what information you think is inaccurate. Include copies (NOT
originals) of documents that support your position. In addition to
providing your complete name and address, your letter should clearly
identify each item in your report you dispute, state the facts and
explain why you dispute the information, and request that it be removed
or corrected. You may want to enclose a copy of your report with the
items in question circled. Your letter may look something like the one
on page 6. Send your letter by certified mail, “return receipt
requested,” so you can document what the consumer reporting company
received. Keep copies of your dispute letter and enclosures.

Consumer reporting companies must investigate the items in question
— usually within 30 days — unless they consider your dispute frivolous.
They also must forward all the relevant data you provide about the
inaccuracy to the organization that provided the information. After the
information provider receives notice of a dispute from the consumer
reporting company, it must investigate, review the relevant
information, and report the results back to the consumer reporting
company. If the information provider finds the disputed information is
inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide consumer reporting
companies so they can correct the information in your file.

When the investigation is complete, the consumer reporting company
must give you the results in writing and a free copy of your report if
the dispute results in a change. If an item is changed or deleted, the
consumer reporting company cannot put the disputed information back in
your file unless the information provider verifies that it is accurate
and complete. The consumer reporting company also must send you written
notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the
information provider. If you request, the consumer reporting company
must send notices of any correction to anyone who received your report
in the past six months. You can have a corrected copy of your report
sent to anyone who received a copy during the past two years for
employment purposes.

If an investigation doesn’t resolve your dispute with the consumer
reporting company, you can ask that a statement of the dispute be
included in your file and in future reports. You also can ask the
consumer reporting company to provide your statement to anyone who
received a copy of your report in the recent past. You can expect to
pay a fee for this service.

STEP TWO

Tell the creditor or other information
provider, in writing, that you dispute an item. Be sure to include
copies (NOT originals) of documents that support your position. Many
providers specify an address for disputes. If the provider reports the
item to a consumer reporting company, it must include a notice of your
dispute. And if you are correct – that is, if the information is found
to be inaccurate – the information provider may not report it again.

For more information, see How to Dispute Credit Report Errors at ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/ .

Reporting Accurate Negative Information

When negative information in your
report is accurate, only the passage of time can assure its removal. A
consumer reporting company can report most accurate negative
information for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years.
Information about an unpaid judgment against you can be reported for
seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is
longer. There is no time limit on reporting: information about criminal
convictions; information reported in response to your application for a
job that pays more than $75,000 a year; and information reported
because you’ve applied for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life
insurance. There is a standard method for calculating the seven-year
reporting period. Generally, the period runs from the date that the
event took place.

For more information, see Building a Better Credit Report at ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/ .

The Credit Repair Organizations Act

By law, credit repair organizations
must give you a copy of the “Consumer Credit File Rights Under State
and Federal Law” before you sign a contract. They also must give you a
written contract that spells out your rights and obligations. Read
these documents before you sign anything. The law contains specific
protections for you. For example, a credit repair company cannot:

• make false claims about their services
• charge you until they have completed the promised services
• perform any services until they have your signature on a written
  contract and have completed a three-day waiting period. During this
  time, you can cancel the contract without paying any fees

Your contract must specify:

• the payment terms for services, including their total cost
• a detailed description of the services to be performed
• how long it will take to achieve the results
• any guarantees they offer
• the company’s name and business address

Have You Been Victimized?

Many states have laws regulating credit repair companies. State law
enforcement officials may be helpful if you’ve lost money to credit
repair scams.

If you’ve had a problem with a credit repair company, don’t be
embarrassed to report it. While you may fear that contacting the
government will only make your problems worse, remember that laws are
in place to protect you. Contact your local consumer affairs office or
your state Attorney General (AGs). Many AGs have toll-free consumer
hotlines. Check the Blue Pages of your telephone directory for the
phone number or check www.naag.org for a list of state Attorneys General.

Need Help? Don’t Despair

Just because you have a poor credit
report doesn’t mean you won’t be able to get credit. Creditors set
their own credit-granting standards and not all of them look at your
credit history the same way. Some may look only at more recent years to
evaluate you for credit, and they may grant credit if your bill-paying
history has improved. It may be worthwhile to contact creditors
informally to discuss their credit standards.

If you’re not disciplined enough to create a workable budget and
stick to it, work out a repayment plan with your creditors, or keep
track of mounting bills, consider contacting a credit counseling
organization. Many credit counseling organizations are nonprofit and
work with you to solve your financial problems. But not all are
reputable. For example, just because an organization says it’s
“nonprofit,” there’s no guarantee that its services are free,
affordable, or even legitimate. In fact, some credit counseling
organizations charge high fees, or hide their fees by pressuring
consumers to make “voluntary” contributions that only cause more debt.

Most credit counselors offer services through local offices, the
Internet, or on the telephone. If possible, find an organization that
offers in-person counseling. Many universities, military bases, credit
unions, housing authorities, and branches of the U.S. Cooperative
Extension Service operate nonprofit credit counseling programs. Your
financial institution, local consumer protection agency, and friends
and family also may be good sources of information and referrals.

If you are considering filing for bankruptcy, you should know about
one major change to the bankruptcy laws: As of October 17, 2005, you
must get credit counseling from a government-approved organization
within six months before you file for bankruptcy relief. You can find a
state-by-state list of government-approved organizations at www.usdoj.gov/ust.
That is the website of the U.S. Trustee Program, the organization
within the U.S. Department of Justice that supervises bankruptcy cases
and trustees.

Reputable credit counseling organizations can advise you on managing
your money and debts, help you develop a budget, and offer free
educational materials and workshops. Their counselors are certified and
trained in the areas of consumer credit, money and debt management, and
budgeting. Counselors discuss your entire financial situation with you,
and help you develop a personalized plan to solve your money problems.
An initial counseling session typically lasts an hour, with an offer of
follow-up sessions.
For more information, see Knee Deep in Debt and Fiscal Fitness: Choosing a Credit Counselor at ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/ .

Do-It-Yourself Check-Up

Even if you don’t have a poor credit
history, some financial advisors and consumer advocates suggest you
review your credit report periodically

• because the information it contains affects whether you can get a loan or insurance — and how much you will have to pay for it.
• to make sure the information is accurate, complete, and up-to-date
  before you apply for a loan for a major purchase like a house or car,
  buy insurance, or apply for a job.
• to help guard against identity theft. That’s when someone uses your
  personal information — like your name, your Social Security number, or
  your credit card number — to commit fraud. Identity thieves may use
  your information to open a new credit card account in your name. Then,
  when they don’t pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on
  your credit report. Inaccurate information like that could affect your
  ability to get credit, insurance, or even a job.

Sample Dispute Letter

Date
Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip Code

Complaint Department
Name of Company
Address
City, State, Zip Code

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing to dispute the following information in my file. The
items I dispute also are encircled on the attached copy of the report I
received.

This item (identify item(s) disputed by name of source, such as
creditors or tax court, and identify type of item, such as credit
account, judgment, etc.) is (inaccurate or incomplete) because
(describe what is inaccurate or incomplete and why). I am requesting
that the item be deleted (or request another specific change) to
correct the information.

Enclosed are copies of (use this sentence if applicable and describe
any enclosed documentation, such as payment records, court documents)
supporting my position. Please investigate this (these) matter(s) and
(delete or correct) the disputed item(s) as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
Your name

Enclosures: (List what you are enclosing)

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and
unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information
to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov
or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY:
1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft,
and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

December 2005

credit, credit repair, credit rating

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