Grrr. credit report

[HeatherB]

Should I start the clean-up now or wait until after we move (in November)??

It has that there are 2 foreclosures - house and car.
I just called my attorney and he said that since I surrendered them in my chapter 7, they should state IIB. But no.

I'm so torqued off at this point.

Here's the mistakes I found on equifax alone -

Name wrong (maiden name still on it)
Missing information on the last two jobs that I've held. This is like 10 YEARS of employment not updated.
One creditor lists "charged off"
2 say forclosure (house and car stated above)
about 5 credit cards says that I'm in a "wage earner's plan" still (converted from a 13 in '04 to a 7 this august)
-of those 5 cards, 2 are showing past due balances
Also, an old cell phone is listed showing a past due balance.
Are they suppose to have my banking information or utility payments or is it on another CRA (like experien or TU?)

So total, it shows that I have almost $3000 in past due balances.


Please advise opinions here....
Should I try to fix it now or after the move? (to include new address, too?)
When disputing these do I write one big letter, or several small letters (each pertaining to a specific charge)? A big blanket statement saying I've filed bankruptcy and converted and to update all accounts???

How is it that the CRA's get away with this?? If I was employed someplace and messed up that bad, I'd be out of a job pretty quickly. I'm irritated. I think the CRAs should have their own CRAs made up by the consumer. <that was a little vent - sorry>

Okay - and I was just wondering....
What is the difference between the 3 agencies?
Does one focus more on utilities, loans, bank accounts and another for CCs?
Are they all supposed to state the same information??
I'm confused and flustered. Grrr.

<deep breath>

[Boscoe]

Don't get flustered, numerous errors on credit reports is common, actually, especially post-bk.

Ok:

3 agencies, all pretty much the same and used by all kinds of creditors, lenders, etc. Some lenders pull all 3 before they decide to give you credit or a loan, many only pull 1. So, you need to have all of them corrected, and showing pretty much the same info.

Dispute NOW - no need to wait for any reason.

You can dispute online, and that is where I would start.
-For your name, you will need to write them and include your driver's license and maybe something showing that you are married. You probably should call them on these.
-Employment, don't think it matters or affects your score. Again, you would need to call and give the info.
-For the 'wage earner's plan', you will need to dispute all of them and probably send them a copy of your conversion to the chapter 7. Maybe send the ch 7 discharge letter too.
-Dispute everything that is wrong, charge offs, cell phone past due, foreclosures, repo. You may not get everything fixed the first time, so a followup may be required.
-No, banking info does not show up. Utility payments are almost never reported. Mine are not.

Bottom line is, go online to each (experian.com; equifax.com; transunion.com) and start an online dispute for each and be sure to dispute EVERYTHING that is not correct, giving details about why it is wrong where you can. For the name and address, you cannot do that online so you will need to call them. The #'s are elsewhere in this forum, or someone else will post with this info.

The disputes take up to 30 days, and I just did this, and they are actually pretty good about sending you the results (either online to your e-mail or mail to your house if you prefer) within 30 days. Do this once and I would guess about 60-75% of your errors will be corrected. The remainder you may need to re-dispute or contact your creditors on. It can go quickly or go somewhat slow, but hang in there and your patience will be rewarded.

Keep us posted!

[lrprn]

Boscoe's suggestions are right on. Also here are a few excellent online credit repair resources that explain how to correct your credit report in detail:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre03.shtm

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre21.shtm

http://www.allaboutcreditreports.com/CorrectYourCreditReports.cfm

http://www.creditguru.com/consumer/creditreport.html

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/repair.shtm

This will give you a good head start understanding how credit reports work and how to dispute errors. All three credit agency addresses and websites are included plus several of these links have sample dispute letters you can use

Hang in there, and tie on your patience hat for this process too. The credit agencies typically update every 30 days, so you may not see corrections right away. Persistence and patience are the key to credit repair.

[HeatherB]

Thank You

Thank you, thank you!

Such a grand source of knowledge here. I'm glad someone pointed me to this sight. The link says to put it in writing..... does that mean hand writing or is typed up okay?

My husband says not to worry about it and that only people with good credit worry about their report. Me - I think that is how they got their good credit.

Thanks for the great info and links.

[lrprn]

The link says to put it in writing..... does that mean hand writing or is typed up okay?

Typed is the way to go. Think carefully about disputing by phone or online through a credit agency's dispute area. The experts feel it's very important to create an actual "I can touch it" paper trail. If you don't, then there may be no record of the conversation and what was promised if that promise is broken later.

Thanks for the great info and links.

You're very welcome!