Before you can repair your credit, you must know where you stand. Your credit rating and credit score are based on the information in the credit reports maintained by the three major credit rating services: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. You can get a free copy of your report every year from each rating service through the Federal Trade Commission’s authorized provider, AnnualCreditReport.com. Check your credit report for incorrect listings of late payments and amounts owed. If you find errors or entries that look suspicious, such as an account you don’t recognize, contact the credit rating service. The rating service will investigate and if the item is erroneous, correct your credit report.

The cost varies from client-to-client-for most cases $500-$1000.

When you are paying every bill on time and your debt is coming down, avoid opening any new credit accounts unless you have good reason to and do not open several accounts in a short time. This is viewed as a signal you aren’t managing your finances very well. When you pay off a credit card or other debt, don’t close the account. The length of time you have used credit counts toward your overall rating. Long-standing accounts lengthen your credit history and raise your credit score. A paid-off credit card account is a valuable asset, even if you cut up the card and never use the account again.

No one can legally remove accurate and timely negative information from a credit report. You can ask for an investigation —at no charge to you — of information in your file that you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete. Some people hire a company to investigate for them, but anything a credit repair company can do legally, you can do for yourself at little or no cost. By law:

• You’re entitled to a free credit report if a company takes “adverse action” against you, like denying your application for credit, insurance, or employment. You have to ask for your report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. The notice includes the name, address, and phone number of the consumer reporting company. You’re also entitled to one free report a year if you’re unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days; if you’re on welfare; or if your report is inaccurate because of fraud, including identity theft.
• Each of the nationwide credit reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — is required to provide you with a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months, if you ask for it. To order, visit annualcreditreport.com, or call 1-877-322-8228. You may order reports from each of the three credit reporting companies at the same time, or you can stagger your requests throughout the year.
• It doesn’t cost anything to dispute mistakes or outdated items on your credit report. Both the credit reporting company and the information provider (the person, company, or organization that provides information about you to a credit reporting company) are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. To take advantage of all your rights, contact both the credit reporting company and the information provider.

-FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

The most widely used credit score is a FICO® score, produced from statistical models developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation (hence the name). FICO® scores range between 300 and 850 and are based on the information in your credit reports. FICO® scores predict the likelihood that you will have a payment that is 90 days or more past due during the 24 months after the score is calculated. The higher the FICO® score, the less likely you will be 90 days or more past due in the next 24 months.

A credit bureau, or credit reporting agency, collects credit information about you from banks and other organizations, consolidates the information into a credit report and sells the report to lenders, insurers, employers and other businesses with a legitimate need for it. The businesses use the report and a calculated credit score to assess your risk level for credit cards, loans, insurance, employment, leases and more. The primary national credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. By law, you’re entitled to one free credit report from each of these credit bureaus every year. What is a Credit

Credit repair is 100% legal and it works because of the law. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to dispute any item on your credit reports. If an item cannot be verified, it must be removed. This will immediately boost your credit score. Even accurate negative items can often be removed or negotiated away.

79% of all credit reports contain errors. This means that most credit reports can be improved instantly. The next step is to work with creditors to negotiate removal of accurate negative items. Credit repair is especially effective after a collections, delinquency, bankruptcy, divorce, Identity theft or foreclosure. We will guide you every step of the way to order free credit reports, remove errors and negotiate removal of negative items. We create powerful letters written by attorneys that place the burden of proof on the credit bureaus and creditors. You will monitor your progress every step of the way. Our financial experts will also help you to keep your finances organized so you will never wind up with bad credit again