Hi Everyone! My husband and I are just starting the process of clearing up our credit reports so we can buy a new house. I have our 3 in 1 credit report, the loan officer gave us and need to start validating and/or disputing the derogatory entries. I have read and reread all of the sample letters, all the info on this site and creditinfocenter.com, but would still like the opinion of people with experience. So if anyone has any advice on the following situations please reply! There are two accounts that we think are not even his. Which letter should I start with? There are two CC's that are reported by the original creditor (shows charge off) and a CA. There are entries that are still being reported and we filed bankruptcy on them. Lastly, there are the accounts we do owe but would like to pay less to settle them, should I still send the dispute or validate letter first? Thanks for any help!! April
As far as the accounts that are not your husbands, if they're CA (collection agency) accounts, you could send a validation ltr to them (found in the sample ltr section on this board) or you just could dispute with the CRA. Some have found success in sending a validation ltr, then after one week, disputing with the CRA, and the negative info. would then drop off. You said you have one of those 3 in 1 reports. You should really get your reports from each individual CRA (Experian, Equifax, and Transunion), the reason being, you may have a collection account on EQ and EX, but not on TU, and if you dispute that account with all 3 CRA's, TU may either raise a flag as to why you're disputing an account that isn't even there, or you may inadvertently add negative info to your report if for whatever reason it (the neg. info) gets verified. Experian offers creditexpert, which offers a 30-day free trial period, where you can view your report online, and dispute through creditexpert directly. Transunion, I've always been able to get my report free just by using the automated line. Equifax offers creditwatch, which is similar to creditexpert, I believe it offers a 30 day trial period for free as well. However, if you do not want to be charged for the service, you need to cancel before 30 days is up (for both creditexpert and creditwatch).
