If we haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet, my name is Joe Mahlow. I specialize in Personal Finance and Credit and enjoy sharing my knowledge on various topics that have proven to be significant to you and many others in my community.In this post on Credit Repair for Free, I'd like to address some frequent questions that current and former clients often ask me. Before delving into the specific strategies and techniques, I need to give you a bit of a heads-up: repairing your credit score for free will take some significant effort. But I assure you that the investment of your time and sweat equity will pay off with savings in both time and money. Without further ado, let's dive into the details.
Table of Contents
Ways to Obtain Free Credit RepairHow to Fix Your Credit Score for Free in 7 Easy StepsUsing Credit Repair Software: Can it be Free?Credit Repair: Obtaining Your Credit Report for FreeCan Credit Repair Really Help Improve Your Credit Score?Let's Conclude this Discussion!
Ways to Obtain Free Credit Repair
Obtaining free credit repair from a company or individual may come with additional terms and conditions beyond what they are representing in their advertisement. No one is willingly offering credit repair without an underlying motive or incentive. For instance, when I first began as a credit repair specialist 15 years ago, I had no clients to work with. To prove my credibility and eligibility for future clients, I decided to offer a few services for free. In exchange, the clients were requested to provide feedback that could be used as reviews and testimonials. Even today, our company ASAP Credit Repair offers one free round of credit repair services to clients after enrollment and service fees have been paid.Nonetheless, free credit repair will always come at a cost. In contrast, the process of credit repair can be done without payment if allocated sufficient time. I recommend that every one disputes their credit reports, though it requires a time commitment of approximately 1-2 hours per month over 3-5 months for all the necessary actions to be completed. If the individual is not eager to do their own credit repair, then finding a Credit Repair service or company locally would be the best option. The cost of credit repair service provision, on average, ranges from $400-600 per customer.
How to Fix Your Credit Score for Free in 7 Easy Steps
Fixing your credit score on your own may be time-consuming, but it is not as challenging as most would think. However, it's crucial to avoid disputing credit reports online, as doing this gives up your legal right to dispute it more than once yearly. Moreover, the dispute process employed by credit bureaus is generic and outdated, resulting in ineffective results.The credit repair process is 70/30, with seventy percent of your time spent conducting research and pulling your credit report and the other thirty percent drafting up your credit disputes. To help simplify the process, below are the steps you need to follow to fix your credit score independently:
1. Access your credit reports online: It's highly recommended to use a credit report provider with the most available data, making it easier to find any possible credit report errors. Try using Identity IQ, which is my personal recommendation.
2. Understand what disputing means: Get yourself familiar with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which safeguard consumers and provide guidelines for disputing credit reports.
3. Draft up your dispute letter: Avoid listening to "gurus" online and instead create a dispute letter using Google Docs or pen and paper. Look up the credit reporting agencies' addresses and the creditor's address at the bottom of the credit report. Include your name, address, date of birth and last four digits of your social security number. Identify the account name and account number you are disputing. In your letter's body, request that the account is validated by providing proof of the account being authorized, such as a credit application, ledger balance history, statement of monthly billing, and all payments made on the account with their dates and times. Finally, conclude the letter and sign it.
4. Wait for 30 days: Wait for a response and if they don't provide proof via mail, send a second dispute letter via certified mail explaining that you didn't receive the requested documents. Request to delete the account (if it's a charge-off or collection) or remove the late payment history (if there were any late payments).
5. Repeat the last step: Keep on repeating the last step until you get the desired resolution. If you get stuck, seek the assistance of a reputable credit repair firm like ASAP Credit Repair.
6. Keep it simple and straightforward: When drafting dispute letters, keep it simple and to the point. Feel free to search for dispute template letters to have an idea of what the structure looks like, but never use them online.
7. Track your progress: Record all the updates, responses, and actions taken during the credit repair process to monitor your progress.
Using Credit Repair Software: Can it be Free?
When I began my career in credit repair, I searched for a tool to simplify the generation of effective dispute letters and improve a customer’s overall experience. At the time, there was only one option available- the Credit Repair Cloud software. Despite its origin as a software exclusively designed for credit repair companies to help their clients strengthen their credit, it can now be utilized by individuals as well. With a free 30-day trial, you can create your very first dispute letter for free. The Credit Repair Cloud offers an amazing secondary option for those seeking free credit repair solutions. Users can enjoy step-by-step guidance through the credit repair process and valuable information on credit repair in general. Furthermore, the software provides an array of dispute letters and tactics, in addition to various dispute reasons that tailor each dispute response to the actual account involved. However, it's important to note that the free trial only allows access to their first-round dispute letters. To complete your credit repair process, you will need to generate the future round letters manually or upgrade to a paid version. Keep in mind that there are approximately 10 other credit repair software options on the market that you can check out to find the one that best suits you. Once you have mastered the process on your own, you can even establish a credit repair business and help others fix their credit.
Credit Repair: Obtaining Your Credit Report for Free
In order to begin repairing your credit on your own, it is crucial that you obtain all three of your credit reports (Equifax, Experian, and Transunion). Though it is advisable to dispute with all of the credit reporting agencies and data furnishers as you become more experienced, it is best to start off simple.It is important to not only scrutinize your credit reports to identify derogatory accounts for you to dispute but also understand which report to utilize. Is there a better preference?The answer is yes. It is crucial to pick the most effective credit report when you have multiple options. Though I have used countless credit reports, not all reports are the same. Lenders that approve loans typically retrieve Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) reports; however, I do not suggest obtaining this report until the end of your credit repair services since it is quite costly. Instead, you should utilize the Vantage score report, which is affordable and gives you the same facts as the FICO report. Which credit report is the most suitable for credit repair? In my opinion, IdentityIQ provides the most comprehensive credit reports compared to other credit monitoring sites. Though the data feed used by IdentityIQ is identical to other Vantage Scoring Reports, it provides more data, significantly aiding you in identifying more errors on your credit report that result in more favorable outcomes.Do you have to use IdentityIQ? Not exactly, as long as you obtain all three credit reports from a reliable credit monitoring site. However, IdentityIQ reports have produced higher results for our clients as compared to any other traditional site.
Can Credit Repair Really Help Improve Your Credit Score?
To put it simply, yes. However, it's essential to understand that credit repair is just one of the many ways to improve your credit score, and it is not a magic solution that resolves all credit issues. It's equally vital that you maintain and manage a good credit record and payment history to advance your credit scores. While credit repair can rectify inaccurate information or reporting errors on your account, it's difficult to remove accurate negative accounts from your credit report.
So, what can credit repair realistically do to improve your credit score?
- Eliminating negative account information or payment history can significantly improve your credit score.
- Positive revolving and installment accounts reporting also play a vital role in increasing your credit score.
- Maintaining a good payment history on existing accounts is crucial to maintaining excellent credit. If you're struggling to build credit, starting with a secured credit card is a highly recommended way to get your score moving in the right direction.
The bottom line is that credit repair is highly effective at improving your credit score, but it's also crucial that you maintain established credit, make payments on time, and keep credit card balances close to zero dollars to ensure the best results from credit repair.
Let's Conclude this Discussion!
During my 15 years in the industry, I have come across various situations of people hesitating to initiate the credit repair process due to their lack of knowledge about it. If you are one of them, take the first step towards fixing your credit today. You can start by familiarizing yourself with the credit repair process and building your first dispute letter, or you can hire a credit repair company to do the job for you. Don't sit around and do nothing; take the initiative to repair your credit because it can save you thousands of dollars in paid interest in the coming years. If you are confused about choosing a credit repair company, get a free consultation and evaluation from ASAP Credit Repair. We value your concern and understand the importance of restoring your credit scores in time.