 Home > Finance > Credit Repair > Can Negative Credit Be Deleted?
Yes, it can.
Despite the fervent proclamations of bureaucrats and credit bureaus everywhere, a simple fact remains: negative credit listings are deleted from peoples' credit reports by the thousands each and every day.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows a consumer to challenge the information on his credit report on the basis of 'completeness and accuracy.'
- When a consumer files a dispute, the credit bureaus must contact the source of the credit information (the creditor) and confirm that the information is accurate, verifiable, and not obsolete.
- In some circumstances, the credit bureau is required to go beyond a simple verification of the creditor's own computer record.
- If, within 30 days, the credit bureau has not received verification from the creditor, then the credit bureau must promptly delete the credit listing.
There are legal methods that you can use to repair your credit. You can hire a professional firm to do it for you, or you can do it yourself.
Legal Methods
You have the right to plead "not guilty" to negative information on your credit reports.
To better understand what legal credit repair is, it would be helpful to understand a few types of illegal credit repair:
- Illegal: Changing your social security number to obtain a clean bill of credit. If any company should suggest this type of credit repair, report them to the authorities.
- Illegal: Disputing every item on your credit report, regardless of nature. The Fair Credit Reporting Act specifically states that only items that are unverifiable, inaccurate or misleading should be disputed. Items that are clearly yours, and reflect your credit history should not be disputed.
- Illegal: Charging for services that have not yet been completed. This is to protect the consumer from fraudulent companies that charge for services that never get completed (charging to "repair your credit", then hitting the road...)
Legal Credit Repair Methods
Legal Credit Repair consists of removing the negative items on a credit report. There are a few different methods of going about this, the most common and effective are:
- 'Goodwill' Negotiation. Negotiating directly with creditors and asking them to 'please' remove negative items from your credit reports is a viable method of credit repair for mild late-pay accounts. There are no laws that require that negative items stay on your reports for any amount of time, and creditors have the ability to simply remove these items if they see that it could somehow work to their benefit, even if that simply means a pleased customer.
- Credit Disputation. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to contact credit bureaus directly and dispute items on your credit reports. Just as in a court of law, you have the right to plead 'not guilty' to negative information on your credit reports, and leave the burden of proof to the credit bureaus. You can dispute any and all items on your credit reports that you feel classify as inaccurate, unverifiable, or misleading. If the bureaus can not verify that the information on your reports is indeed correct, then those items must be deleted.
Repair Credit Yourself
The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to dispute any and all items on your credit reports that you feel classify as inaccurate, unverifiable, or misleading. If the bureaus can not verify that the information on your reports is indeed correct, then those items must be deleted.
Restoring your own credit is like representing yourself a court of law.
Disputing items on your credit report is easy. Getting results from the credit bureaus can be amazingly difficult, complex, and infuriating. It is not a coincidence that the Federal Trade Commission receives more complaints against credit bureaus than any other type of business. Remember, the credit bureaus are primarily interested in protecting their profits. Investigating your challenge consumes these profits. Short of sparking a mass number of lawsuits, the credit bureaus seem to do everything in their power to discourage consumers from making progress in their restoration efforts.
Restoring your own credit is like repairing your own transmission or representing yourself a court of law; it is possible, but you must decide if you are willing to take the time and assume the risks of doing it yourself. Many people choose to allow an attorney to represent them because an attorney better understands the complexities of the legal system.
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