Consumer Credit
A Solution to Credit Repair
You Don’t Need to Pay Anyone to “Repair” Your Credit
An easy way to correct errors on your credit report is by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com. It’s a simple process and it’s free.
From this site you will have access to each of your credit reports from Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. These reports are consumer reports and will contain information that is not provided on other types of credit reports, such as those obtained for mortgage purposes. There are three ways to obtain your free credit reports:
- Online at www.annualcreditreport.com
- By phone 1-877-322-8228
- By mail. You will need to print, complete and mail the request form available at www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/requestformfinal.pdf to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
Once you receive your credit reports, review each one for errors. If you order the reports online you will have instant access to them. If you identify any errors you can follow the dispute process identified by each bureau. Federal law requires the dispute process be completed within 30 days, however, it can be sooner than that.
Once you have the copies of your credit reports they will also provide you with a phone number where you can call and speak to a live person with any questions or concerns you have regarding your credit report or the dispute process. They can also provide you with a fax number where you can send any supporting documentation regarding your dispute. If you advise them that you have a mortgage pending they will often accelerate the dispute process.
This process can get your dispute addressed by each repository much faster than most credit repair companies. See the FTC warnings about credit repair www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre13.shtm
Note: The reports you receive will not contain your FICO scores. You will have an option to purchase them if you want, but remember these are personal scores and not industry specific scores. Therefore they will most likely be higher than scores pulled for mortgage or auto lending purposes.
Back to “Credit Repair? Just say “NO”!