Credit Report Repair is a huge business currently. There are credit repair companies opening up all over the U.S. With all of the credit issues our country faces as a result of foreclosures, high credit card debt, loss of jobs and an economy going into a recession, credit repairs companies are having a field day. According the FTC most credit repair companies prey on the desperate in hopes of a miracle. The FTC claims that self help is best.

Check your Credit Report

Don't worry checking your free credit score report does not affect your credit score. The first step after you have had some issues in the past is to pull a copy of your credit report with all 3 credit scores. This type of report will show you what is on there. That way you can start the negotiating process. Contrary to popular belief, you cannot get collections; charge offs, judgments, foreclosures, or slow pays removed from your report. Alls of these types of derogatory matters stay on your report between 7 to 10 yrs.

How to negotiate

Once you have pulled a copy of your credit report with scores, now you can determine which collections to pay off. Always start with the small collections. If you have a collection that says you owe $450.00 to OSI, which is a medical collection company, offer them $150.00. Make sure if you offer them a amount you can afford you follow through with the agreement. After you have come to an agreement, ask for a letter to delete from the Bureaus. If you are able to get a letter to delete from the bureaus, then you can send this letter to all 3 credit bureaus to delete the collection. This is top priority. If you cannot get the collection company to give you a letter to delete, then make sure you get the letter they provide. Sometimes these collection companies will not update the bureaus like they are required by law. Typically what they will provide depending on the agreed upon negotiations, is a letter that says either paid in full or settled.

Check for inaccurate information

Along with paying off debt you owe, you also need to check for information that is not correct. Like collections or obligations that are not yours. This is very common on credit reports. If there is information on your credit report that is incorrect, disputes it on line. Some professionals recommend disputing via certified mail, but we have got the same results via on-line dispute, plus it's faster. Now if you need to send in a letter to the credit bureaus, then you have to send the letter along with the dispute via certified mail. The disputing process depends on the situation of the collections. For example: if you filed a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, and it's been on your credit report for more than 10 yrs, you can dispute this on line. This is because Chapter 7 Bankruptcies are only suppose to be on your report for 10 years from original file date. You don't need letter to dispute this because the credit bureau can call and verify original file date.

Revisit your Credit Report

Once you have knocked out a bunch of collections and charge offs re-pull your report. Don't pull it until at least 90 days after you have paid a bunch of collections. The reason for doing this is you want to make sure these companies are updating the credit bureaus. If is very common for collections companies not update information like they are required to do. You also want to give the collection companies time to update as well. Usually they will take 30 to 60 days to send in the necessary information to update your credit report. Give it some time, and with a little hard work you will be able to revive your bad credit.

Re-establish credit

While you are taking care of old debts, you need to be establishing new ones. Yes, you heard me correct, in order for your credit scores to increase you need some good credit reporting as well. The quickest way to get this going is to get a secured credit card. Orchard Bank has one of the best credit cards, which will allow you to establish credit, even after a bankruptcy. The reason this is so important is because you began the process of good credit reporting to all 3 credit bureaus. It will not hurt to get a couple of secured credit cards. Once you have some good payment history on these cards you will get offers from other credit card companies. The one thing you want to remember is don't make the same mistake twice. Use your credit cards with care, and make sure you are never late on them. If you are late then you defeat this entire process.