In the twenty-first century, repairing your credit means that you will have to learn how to deal effectively with a variety of companies and agencies in writing and telephone communications.
You should expect to deal with the three reporting bureaus, your original creditors, and any other agency that reports your consumer information to the credit bureaus.
You might also have to deal with legal representatives hired by creditors.
Since 70 percent of consumer credit reports in the U.
S.
contain errors, learning how to monitor and dispute your report is essential to protecting your rating.
When you get creditors and the bureaus to update your record with the right account information, you improve your credit score.
You also get better terms such as lower interest rates in the future.
Disputing your credit report is difficult because consumers don't know how to monitor their own report and how to get them to fix mistakes.
At the same time, people don't want to deal with the harassment when they go through bad financial situations like getting laid off or becoming disabled.
Some key issues in credit repair are: not having the right information, not knowing how to correct problems by communicating effectively with creditors, and hiring the wrong type of company to repair your record.
If you cannot afford a lawyer to represent your dispute problems, self-help resources may be your answer to solving your credit repair issues.
The U.
S.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provides guidelines and a sample letter for consumers at FTC.
gov.
Visit this website and other government websites to get the facts on consumer reports and the credit repair process.
With the right type of information, you can take charge of your report and get creditors and credit bureaus to accurately report your record.
Optimizing your time spent in repairing your report includes three options.
The first option is to do the paperwork yourself.
Author of "The Complete Credit Repair Kit," Brette McWhorter Sember writes, "Remember, as a consumer, it is your right to insist that the bills you receive are accurate.
" Sember also notes that fixing bills based on your credit and banking statements prevents a lot of mistakes from making it to your credit report.
You might be thinking, "Who has time to monitor correspondence from creditors?" That is why many consumers turn to a third party to fix their report with the three bureaus (Experian, EquiFax, and TransUnion).
As a consumer, you should understand your consumer rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) before deciding how to proceed.
Two other options are to hire an attorney and to contract with a consumer debt management or credit repair agency to resolve your credit issues.
For example, a third party can lower your payments and interest rates in addition to fixing errors by communicating effectively with each creditor and credit bureau concerned with your credit report.
A good company can also monitor you report in the future.
If you want to choose the best option, seek a free consultation with a credit repair company or attorney.
Based on the consultation, decide whether to consult resources like Semper's "The Complete Credit Repair Kit" or to hire a third party to handle credit issues for you.
Doing your homework by reading the federal consumer credit laws is the most important step you can take in managing your credit repair issues.