Howdy: I'm very new to this process, and I want to say thanks for the information. I have goals, and I want to be a good credit holder. I do have mistakes, and I also see problems that may not be correct on my report. I want to do my best and get my wife and I into the 700/800 clubs ASAP. We're both probably 520 at this point. However! Being so darned new, I think I have a couple of very newbie like questions: (1) CREDIT REPORTS! Do folks here recommend using the 3-in-1 credit report that some can get online, like from www.icreditreport.com? I know that in many cases, this is the quickest way to seeing your stuff, but is it the best and most thorough report? When my wife and I were working to buy our first house (680+ score in 3/99), the realtor we were working with was very helpful (obvious reasons) and helped us clean up our credit real quick, probably in less than 30 days. They used some 3rd party credit checking service. Bottom line: What is the most thorough and complete credit report that can be pulled on an individual? Would single reports from the 3 CRA's be the best bet, or is there an online consolidated report which is good, or should I got for a bonanza and get 4/5/6 sources and manually merge them in my efforts to get a complete picture of what's against me? (2) BASIC STEPS: If I want to improve my credit score, I understand the process is quite simple on the outset: (a) Identify your credit report PLAN, e.g. what to attack first; (b) Prepare proper attack; (c) Document and monitor attack; (d) Continue attack until no further action possible; (e) Move on to next attack; (f) Repeat. The attacks are what really confuse me; e.g. let me say that 'attack' here means one of: * Attacking errorneous personal information; * Attacking debts not believed to me mine or my spouses; * Attacking and negotiating chargeoffs for better language and a low settlement; * Attacking and removing non-verifiable debts; Is this the best plan of attack? I realize that MANY different situations exist. Is there a consolidated flowchart which helps to identify the priorities for the most results? (3) I'm hip to the Registered and Certified R/R/R mail system, and I'll use that. In addition, when I do the snail mail, I'll also Fax out (with confirmation) the same thing. I used to work in a law office, so I'm fairly good with the legal-sounding language, and I think I can write a very good letter. Experience will show me more, I know. I'm aware of the strong arm tactics that can be used (trust me, I haven't answered my phone in 2 years except for what callerID has shown me). In fact, it's really funny some of the stuff that's been pulled on me, but about 2 years ago, I just decided the mental stress was too much and I ignore the rest of em. My main question here is where in the hell do I really START??!?! (3) RESOURCES: (a) This board (thank you!!!) (b) yahoo groups on credit-repair (MikeK site) (b) WhyChat's information (e) ??? Is there a favorite, consolidated list of the newest, and most current information. (4) What information should I be gathering? I know that in this fight/attack mode, I need to have the most current information that I possibly can. What information do I need to obtain? Specifically I'm talking about things like which CA report to what CRA, etc. This sounds like cutting edge information that I may or may not have to have on hand. Whew! Exhausted already. TIA. NextLevel
I am not an expert, nor do I attempt to imply that I am. I think your best bet if you're just going to start hacking away at it would be to subscribe to the online report from each of the three major CRA's, this way you get the true info that is on your report (some combined reports have some stuff missing, or different info) Then it's probably good to have a paper copy of the credit report from each of the three when you get really heavily into the dispute phase. I say dispute the small stuff, look for inaccuracies, and do online disputes a few at a time to see how well that works, then get paper copies and start hammering them. Send the validate to CA's on your reports CRRR, then hit the CRA once you've gotten your little green card with a dispute. Then when they validate to the CRA that the debt is valid, but don't give you the information you can write them informing them of the laws they've broken, and that you may sue, unless they delete. Just giving my $.02 of advice to the newbie. ChrisB
My experience is that 3-in-1 reports are total crap. They sacrifice a lot of info and often leave off soft inquiries/contact info. It is also cheaper to get your reports individually online. Make sure to get your report DIRECTLY from the CRA and not an affilliate. The CRA may only allow online disputes if you have the report number they issue.
