Think Twice

Credit repair is not about getting rid of genuine derogatory information on your reports, but before you decide what is genuine and what is not, you should think twice. There may be some issues you have to live with until the reporting period, usually seven years, has passed, but you may find that some of the items which look accurate have no business being on your report.

Accept Nothing Blindly

Many people make the mistake of accepting the presence of negative information on their reports simply because it looks familiar. In the present credit environment, where every single point in your credit score translates into money in your pocket, you cannot afford to accept anything without putting it under the microscope of credit repair.

Common Culprits

Commonly neglected derogatory information most often prone to reporting errors includes: overstated revolving balances, closed accounts reported as open, duplicate accounts, and collections, once accurate, but no longer allowed to report. All of these are prime credit repair candidates. All of these can be removed from your reports.

Overstated Balances

Overstated revolving accounts are often neglected in the credit repair process as the account may in every other way look fine. The single erroneous balance figure is easily overlooked in a cursory examination, and yet, this single innocuous error can knock the wind out of your credit score. High revolving balances hurt. Overstated balanced should be corrected.

Closed or Open

Closed accounts which continue to report as open can likewise be eliminated. You must examine your reports very carefully as you pursue your credit repair project. Creditors often continue to show accounts in an open status, often with balances, for years after they have been closed!

Mysterious Duplicates

Duplicate accounts, like the above two cases, may not be spotted, especially by those scouring for derogatory issues. But like overstated balances, these accounts can overstate your obligations and lower your scores. Put your credit repair knowledge to work and erase these extraneous accounts.

Collectors Out of Compliance

The last of these sneaky candidates for credit repair is the most insidious, erroneous collection accounts. Spotting these little devils can be difficult unless you know exactly what to look for. By law, collectors are supposed to cease the reporting of a debt at the time that they no longer own it. Many collectors will sell accounts if they cannot collect in the first six months. This should trigger an end to their reporting, but do not hold your breath.

Spotting the Offenders

One way to spot these incorrect lingering collection accounts is easy. If more than one collector is reporting a single debt, the oldest one should be disputed and removed with credit repair. This does not mean that singular occurrences are correct! The most recent collector may have sold the account too. You may opt to challenge these collections as well, but please do your homework first.

Research Comes First

Before including any questionable collection in your credit repair effort you should do a bit of homework. Try to recall everything you can about the original event. If you can remember the original date of default you can calculate the statute of limitation (SOL). If the debt is beyond the SOL you can dispute without fear of the collector prevailing in a lawsuit. Credit repair works, but carefully!

Copyright © 2010 James W. Kemish. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

Author Bio: Jim Kemish is the president and founder of Sky Blue Credit Repair, a leading credit repair service. Sky Blue Credit has been dedicated to providing intelligent customized credit solutions since 1989.

Category: Finances
Keywords: credit repair, credit repair services, credit report repair, credit scores, bad credit