Writing letters to collection agencies and credit bureaus is an important credit repair activity.
Types
Dispute letters, letters for debt validation, letters for cease and desist, and pay for delete are the various kinds of credit repair letters. Dispute letters are written when disputing an account, personal information, or public record. Sample letters of these kinds are easily available online. Debt validation deals with asking collection agencies for validating a debt. Similarly letters regarding pay for delete are written to debt collectors requesting them to remove or update your account with bad credit through monetary negotiations. Cease and desist requests deal with asking someone not to contact you anymore. A return receipt should be requested so that evidence remains with you. Hence, it is suggested to use certified or registered mail for sending these letters as it helps in securing a proof of the letters being indeed mailed. This might come in handy if the case goes to a court of law.
Elements
Credit repair letters should effectively highlight your credit report’s negative marks. A copy of the letter should be sent to the reporting credit bureau as well as the company about which the negative remark speaks. The credit bureau’s name, the date of listing, the posting date, the posting company’s name, the element that was posted, as well as its inaccuracies are the various forms of information that should be included in a letter. The letter should be closed with the listing of few suggestions about the corrections required from the company and bureau’s side. They are legally bound to respond or act within 30 days of receiving this letter. These steps should be followed for all the negative marks found on your report. Keep following up in case they do not reach out to you.
Other than the above information, identification data such as full name, address, telephone number, Social Security Number, account number, the loan or credit card’s name containing wrong information, and associated papers are some other pieces of information that should be sent out. Papers supporting your claim can include cancelled checks, statements showing timely payment of the incorrectly listed late payment, and similar information for lending further weight to the claim.
It is suggested to ask for your credit report from all the three leading credit reporting agencies ; Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. You may be required to write letters to all of them if inaccuracies are present in each one’s report. This is important because all these agencies may have different credit records about you.