Confused

[JollyGG]

I'm not quite there yet but I'm anticipating working on my credit report soon. However, I've heard so much conflicting advise and was wondering what people's experiences here have been.

1. Should I dispute off of my free annual credit report. I read somewhere not to do it that way because it gives the company 45 days to verify instead of the normal 30. Is this true and is that really a problem? It seems foolish to not at least start out using a tool that is free to me.

2. I should be entitled to another free copy once my dispute is handled. Correct? If that is true why would I even need to sign up for a credit monitoring service?

3. Do I have to dispute entries via certified mail or can I use the online dispute tool? I understand that certified mail gives proof that you disputed, however wouldn't the online tool be quicker? Do I really need proof that I disputed?

4. I also read that you should only dispute one entry at a time. Does that mean I dispute an item and wait for a response then dispute another item? This seems like it could take years. Or does that mean that I address one entry per correspondence but I can send multiple disputes out at a time? Or does it really matter? Can I send a dispute listing everything that needs addressed at once?

I know many people will refer me to a credit board, but I think that is where I got all confused at.

I don't plan to apply for any CCs any time soon. Especially not until we've looked at our credit report. However, we do want to buy a car in a year. I will have my student loan, my mortgage, and my existing car payment (for another 6 months) hopefully reporting on my credit report. Do I actually need a credit card on my credit report as well? And yes I know all answers would just be guess work as FICO doesn't reveal their formula. But, what are others feeling on whether or not I need a CC reporting before getting a car loan as I will have other trade lines reporting?

[Frank]

You only get one free copy from all three agencies per year. You don't get another free one after you dispute something. That's why people sign up for monitoring services.

[JollyGG]

I thought when the investigation is complete, the consumer reporting company must give you the results in writing and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change.

Am I wrong?

[JollyGG]

I know plenty of people have fixed errors on their reports.
Can't anyone answer my questions?

[bige1030]

I thought when the investigation is complete, the consumer reporting company must give you the results in writing and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change.

Am I wrong?

If I recall correctly, you're right.

You don't get a new report, though, if the dispute doesn't result in a change.

[brainless twit]

TU sent me another copy of my report after changes were made. I disputed online, so I was surprised to see that something actually got done. Still a long way to go though....

[Frank]

Hey that's great if you get another copy. It's been a while since I disputed something so I can't really remember if I got another copy or not. I just know you can't request more than one a year.

[SinkingFast]

We're into our 3rd round of disputing and we only got a free copy of the reports the first time. After that, the CRA's quit sending them.

We've done all of our disputing online except for Equifax. We're using True Credit and they don't do online for Equifax. I was gonna find a website to dispute online with Equifax and found out we have to go thru CSC Credit Services because of the State we live in. I've had a go around with them, CSC, once years ago and decided I'll write Equifax instead.

We probably did what the Credit Forum considers some taboos. We're not interested in hiding from the BK. Rather we're embracing it so to speak.

The first round of disputes, we just went for IIB and to get balances brought down to Zero.

Some of the Creditors didn't respond the first time, so those accts fell off as if they never even existed.

The Credit Forum says not to post a personal statement. We did. "Defaults due to extended unemployment."

On accts where one of us was the primary and the other was an Authorized User, the AU has disputed as "Not Mine". Those various accts have been removed from our Credit Reports.

Just so you know,.......... You aren't the only one to get all confused over at that Credit Forum. I did too. There's no one place where they explain their lingo. Baddies and such. Some I figured out. Other terms I'm still totally lost on. And they aren't particularly friendly to BK Filers either.

Don't get too caught up in your scores. Scores are like a Yo-Yo right now. If you apply for a CC they drop like a rock. 2 months later, they're back up higher than before. Use a CC and have even the smallest amount of debt report on your Credit Reports, the debt drops your scores back down. Pay in full, your scores fly back up. It's a Yo-Yo!

[BK'd-Betty]

I'm sad to hear that you had that experience over there SinkingFast. When I first went there, I felt a certain "coldness" too, however, I'm *VERY* active on that board - much more so than here - and I have all my BK stuff in my siggie over there. After being around awhile, I feel like a regular and part of the gang - nobody has ever made me feel like I wasn't welcome because of my BK - and I'm much more active outside the BK forum over there than I am in the BK forum.

I think the problem over there is that the board is so vast - they have over 40,000 members and it's an extremely active board. I was confused at first too, but spent a lot of time reading over there and posting - and I've made tremendous progress in cleaning up my credit.

I, like you, have never tried to dispute my BK off - I've only asked that the reporting be true and accurate. Sometimes when it's not, the CRA's just delete stuff (like my foreclosure and BK 7 at TU - I didn't ask for deletion, just accuracy).

Anyway, I'm sad you didn't get a warm welcome there because there is so much more after BK credit information there. I don't agree with all of it (like disputing accounts as "not mine" when they are, in fact, mine) but they have helped me a lot in getting back on track and in a really short period of time.

I see people from this board (with the same handle) all the time!

Just so you know,.......... You aren't the only one to get all confused over at that Credit Forum. I did too. There's no one place where they explain their lingo. Baddies and such. Some I figured out. Other terms I'm still totally lost on. And they aren't particularly friendly to BK Filers either!

[SinkingFast]

I, like you, have never tried to dispute my BK off - I've only asked that the reporting be true and accurate. Sometimes when it's not, the CRA's just delete stuff (like my foreclosure and BK 7 at TU - I didn't ask for deletion, just accuracy).

Anyway, I'm sad you didn't get a warm welcome there because there is so much more after BK credit information there. I don't agree with all of it (like disputing accounts as "not mine" when they are, in fact, mine) but they have helped me a lot in getting back on track and in a really short period of time.

I see people from this board (with the same handle) all the time!

I saw that a lot over there. Dispute as "Not Mine" in hopes of getting the entry deleted. In our case, if I was the primary and Hubby was the AU, we disputed "Not Mine" for that acct on his Credit Reports. Same for me. If Hubby was the primary and I was the AU, I'd dispute that acct as not mine.

Some of the more stubborn ones, we've gone back and asked for Validation of the accts, citing multiple errors. They show the wrong high balance amount. Or they show a Charge Off when the acct wasn't charged off. We're not using "Not Mine" but trying to clean off as many as possible.

I'm beginning to think hiring Lexington Law may not be such a bad idea. The Jury is still out on that one.

[ChainSmokin]

[poorme]

SinkingFast - I spoke with a rep at EQ last week about CSC. He explained that EQ is apparently in discussions to absorb or buyout CSC, partly because of all the complaints they get. EQ still reports for those states CSC serves, it's just that any disputes have to be handled by CSC (for now). So I'm hopeful that situation will turn around soon - would much rather deal with EQ directly. Hang in there/here!