There are pro’s and con’s for disputing on your own or hiring a Credit Repair Service. I will try to explain them in this blog.

Doing it yourself – The pro’s are that you have complete control over everything that is being done for your credit report disputes. You can choose who, what and where to dispute. This allows your complete control. The con’s are that you have complete control and must work really hard to resolve the problems. Your records must be meticulous and you should stay on top of the credit bureaus and creditors that they are working on resolving the disputes that you have sent. This sometimes is a difficult task and should only be taken on by someone who can keep perfect records and notes.

Hiring A Credit Repair Service – The con’s for hiring a company is that you must trust who you are working with. They will have control over information that is vital to your financial future. Companies like Ovation Credit Repair have been doing this for a long time and have your security completely in mind. The other con is the cost. Credit Repair Companies can cost you especially if you are not working with a good, honest company. You should read the Credit Repair Organization Act (CROA) so that you become familiar with what Credit Repair companies are supposed to do. Any company that wants the money up front is ones that you should investigate thoroughly. The pro’s for using such a service is simple. They have the experience and knowledge to keep working on your case as long as you’re continuing to dispute the information that is being provided on the credit report. This can and usually takes many letters to both the credit bureau and the creditor. Most people will find that they don’t have the time or resources for doing that kind of work. Hiring a company to do that work for you is the best solution.

Remember Credit Repair Companies can only help you if you are honest with them. Tell them what you want to dispute and let them do the work for you. This will save you money and time in the long run. But remember, they are doing work that you could do for yourself.

Once a year each individual is allowed to get a free credit report from the credit bureaus. This report will tell you what is on your credit report but will not give you a credit score. To obtain a credit score you must buy a report from each of the bureaus or from a credit monitoring service. Credit monitoring services can be pricey especially if you hire them to do the monitoring for you. But even the credit monitoring companies don’t dispute information for you.

You basically have two choices when it comes to disputing. You can do it yourself or you can hire a Credit Repair Company (such as Ovation Credit). There are pro’s and con’s for each way.

No matter which way you choose, you should dispute anything on your credit report that is inaccurate, misleading or simply is not yours. After reviewing your credit report you can determine which pieces of information on your report needs to be disputed. It is important for your score to be accurate that the report be accurate. Dates, amounts owed, balances are all things that will effect the score. So pay attention to those things when reviewing the information on your credit report. 79% of the information found on most credit reports is inaccurate, misleading or simply not yours.

It is important that you start making sure that your bills are paid on time and in full. You should also work to reduce your credit card balances (to around 30% of your limit) and never exceed your cards credit limit. Additionally, don’t take on any added debt that you may not be able to repay.

Once your have determined which things on your credit report are not accurate, you can then choose what needs to be disputed. Here is the trick, getting the credit card companies to actually go back to the creditor and have them verify the information that is on your report. The general solution is to write both the bureau and the creditor a letter explaining the incorrect information and have them correct it. This will generally get the corrected information to your report. Sometimes you have to write both the credit bureau and creditor several times before your inaccuracy is corrected. This is where a credit repair company comes into play. They will do that writing for you and will continue to do so until the problem is resolved.

Once your credit report is accurate, then it becomes a matter of continued monitoring and maintenance. This will help you keep your report accurate and help you to correct the items that are negative on your credit report.

There are three main credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. These companies gather credit information from various creditors and sell this information in the form of a credit report. This report is sold to lenders or others who have a need for it. Each individual has a right to see what on their credit report at the different credit bureaus. Everyone is entitled to a copy of their credit report free once every 12 months.

The information in your credit report is as follows:
Individual’s full name, address, place of employment, spouse’s name, if married.
Complete credit history showing bank accounts, dates of loans taken and amounts that were borrowed and terms that the loans were given. How many payments have been made and number of late or missed payments and finally how much is still outstanding.
Any lawsuits filed or judgments against you and any tax liens or bankruptcies that you have filed.
Finally any inquires regarding your credit for the last 18 months can appear on your credit report.

This information is updated on a monthly basis so that any companies requesting your reports gets the most accurate information available to make a decision on your credit application.