For more nuances, the credit repair process continues.(Credit Repair Process link) – Start A Compliant Credit Repair Business- Credit Consultants Association

You can also use the Credit Repair Dispute – Tracking Worksheet

Credit Repair Process – We have updated this since the video please read text also. See below for our 10 Steps Dispute formula and tying everything together.

Strategy – See Below for the steps you should take:

When a consumer disputes or challenge the completeness or accuracy of any information contained in his/her credit report, the consumer reporting agency (CRA) must conduct a “reinvestigation.” The term “reinvestigation” is a statutory term under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). If the reinvestigation reveals that the information is inaccurate or cannot be verified, the CRA must promptly delete the information. 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a). Failure to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation violates the FCRA. Cushman v. Trans Union Corp., 115 F.3d 220, 223–24 (3d Cir.1997). The burden to conduct the reinvestigation is on the credit reporting agency. It cannot be shifted back to the consumer. In a nutshell, The FCRA has a requirement that items in your credit report must meets three criterias: They must be 100% accurate, 100%verifiable and 100% time-appropriate. If it does not meet these standards those items must be removed/deleted or corrected.

In addition, and this is very POWERFUL, as per Federal Laws related to credit reporting, any and all derogatory information listed in a consumer credit file can be investigated for their reporting method and compliance. This can be related to the Metro 2 reporting methods. This means that one can actually challenge evidentially how accounts and items are reported–this is NOT just related to rather the account is accurate or not, because this will NOT be the argument. But rather or not the reported item was done properly from a compliance perspective. If challenging and making allegations via compliance, the credit bureaus must certify that their reporting accuracy from a compliance perspective is undisputable and they must certify that it is reported correctly. Certification of this fact in some cases is something that they may not be willing to do. Therefore if they are not willing to certify that the items is in compliance based on their advertised legal reported method, they will prefer to delete any adverse item off a consumer credit file. Those who seeking this approach can get it via our personal coaching service. Related to:

A credit reporting agency’s reinvestigation obligation is to verify the accuracy of its original source of information. This duty may include going beyond the original source. Whether the credit reporting agency must go beyond the original source depends on a number of factors, including:

(1) whether the consumer has alerted the CRA that the original source may be unreliable;
(2) whether the CRA itself knows or should know that the original source is unreliable; and
(3) the comparative costs of verifying the accuracy of the original sources versus the potential harm the inaccurate information may cause the consumer. Dixon-Rollins v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., 753 F.Supp.2d 452 (2010).

As part of its reinvestigation, a consumer reporting agency must provide the original source of derogatory information with notice of the consumer’s dispute. 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a) (2). The notice “shall include all relevant information regarding the dispute that the agency has received from the consumer.” Id. Moreover, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently confirmed that a reasonable reinvestigation “must mean more than simply … making only a cursory investigation into the reliability of information that is reported to potential creditors.” Cortez v. Trans Union, LLC, 617 F.3d 688, 713 (3d Cir.2010) (citing Cushman, 115 F.3d at 225).

The strategy is that credit bureaus fall short in the matter and usually won’t be able to verify items. You can send your disputes via certified mail or fax with confirmation, In some instance, one can call the bureaus challenging accounts but must organized for this to occur.

Submitting the Dispute

Step one in any credit report dispute process begins when you, the credit repair consultant on behalf of your client, notify the appropriate party that they disagree with an item on your credit report(s). The dispute is most commonly submitted to the credit reporting agencies (CRAs) themselves (Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian) and can be initiated via mail, online, by fax, or over the phone. You should not use the online method and you will learn this within the training program. However, many consumers do not realize that you can also initiate a dispute directly with the company who supplied the allegedly inaccurate information to the credit reporting agencies – aka the “data furnisher.” Additionally, if you have already filed a dispute with the credit reporting agencies directly you also have the right to file a concurrent dispute with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Use the McCarthy Law Firm Dispute Hand-book to be help you build your client’s case as you will see in tying is all together.

“In Dispute”

Whenever an item is disputed in a credit reports with the credit reporting agencies they are required by the FCRA to mark the item in question as “in dispute” on your credit reports; mortgage companies don’t like to see this on your credit report. If you initiated your dispute directly with the data furnisher then they are required themselves to notify all 3 credit reporting agencies that the item is being challenged and must be marked as “in dispute.” In order to add the “in dispute” notation to an item on your credit reports a 2-character Compliance Condition Code, the “XB” code to be exact, is appended to the item in question. When the “XB” code is attached the account will appear on your credit reports with a statement which reads something along the lines of “Consumer disputes, investigation in process.”

The Investigation of The Claim

If you initiated the dispute with a credit reporting agency directly then the next step of the dispute process occurs when the CRA takes over and the actual “investigation” of the claim begins. First, the entire dispute is homogenized into a 3-digit code, a code that will be used to communicate your dispute with the data furnisher. There are several of these dispute codes but most disputes revolving around the consumer claiming the account isn’t theirs, the balance is incorrect, or the account was never late.

e-Oscar

The CRAs use an online system known as e-Oscar (Online Solution for Complete and Accurate Reporting) to facilitate the handling of the millions of disputes they receive from consumers every year. First, an ACDV form (Automated Consumer/Credit Dispute Verification) is filled out with the 3-digit code used to describe your dispute and sent to the data furnisher via the e-Oscar system. The data furnisher is tasked with the responsibility of looking into the claim and either verifying the account as accurate or instructing the CRA to update or delete the account. The same ACDV form will be used to detail the data furnisher’s findings and will be sent back to the CRA, again via e-Oscar.

The Results

Once the CRA receives a response from the data furnisher the client’s credit report will be updated. If the account was verified as being reported accurately then the only changes that will take place are the “XB” code being removed from your report and the “date reported” updated to the then current date. However, if the data furnisher agrees with your dispute then the account would be either updated to reflect different information or deleted from your report entirely. Additionally, if the data furnisher failed to respond to the CRA within the time allowed under the FCRA then the item in question would be deleted due to the lack of response. Regardless of the outcome, the CRA is required to send you the results of your dispute once the process has been completed.

We just provided you the process. Here are so more tips.

UPDATE:Credit Consultants can now or soon will be able to submit disputes with Credit Monitoring Services and Obtaining Credit Information instantly on clients using Credit Karma or Privacy Guard.

Many of the large credit repair company can see exactly what is on their client’s credit report on the phone. This is because they have back end access to a credit monitoring services like credit karma. They can collect information from their clients and have direct information as to what is on their credit report on the fly. You can do the same by creating a credit karma account for your clients or obtain the password to access their already created credit karma account. The best part this is FREE.

With this in mind, you are able to perform direct dispute using these service and results are extremely positive. Please keep in mind that you must keep track of all online disputes with this organization to have a paper trail.

The process is this. You find out if the client has a credit karma account. If not, create one for them while they are on the phone and you can see exactly what is in their credit report instantly and have a general idea of their credit score. Then you can determine how you can help. This is such an excellent way to services you client and really get on top of their issues in a hurry

Also

It is not a good to get your FREE report from AnnualCreditReport.com. the reason, it gives the credit bureau up to 45 days instead of 30 to respond to disputes.
Forced Arbitration: Please note that when you purchase a credit report for the credit bureau directly, you will see an arbitration agreement that will prevent you from suing with a jury trial.Be Sure To Opt Out of Binding Arbitration Clause within 30 to 60 days of receiving a credit report from a credit bureau. You will find an opt out letter here

Written Format of Video:

Once you obtained copies of your client’s credit report and scores here are some steps you should follow:
Please NOTE that credit scores are not calculated once a months as most believe, they are calculated at the time a client obtains their scores so in other words, they are calculated on the fly.

NOTICE: You may be nervous to handle your first case and feel lost at first. We totally understand this and we are here for you.

We are noticing that one CAN dispute or challenge reporting methods on a hosts of items in one detailed letter on the first try. YES we know the manual stated to dispute a few items at a time. However, we are seeing a slight change in this approach. Our CRA insiders are sharing that computer generated dispute software letters often will NOT do this effectively and why this approach gets pass filters. This is a way to weed out credit repair companies. Therefore good ole fashion typed detailed letters with explanations of why this items is incorrect…. will do the trick. Then at the end to wrap up the letter stating that these items are damaging your financial reputations and must be removed or updated at once. Use the sample letters but update them to be more detailed with explanations. Details and evidence works!!! It takes more time but effective. The best part, this can separate you from larger credit repair firms or those using software to get extremely better results. Results means more clients. The best dispute letter is when you can catch the Furnisher or Credit Bureau in a violation and an item and it will surely come off.

Therefore, Just write a detailed dispute letter and challenge everything you feel is incomplete or inaccurate with explanation and evidence if you have it. Then once you receive your response from the credit bureau, you can deal with each individual item that was not deleted off the credit report.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS ONLY WORKS IF ITEMS HAVE NEVER BEEN DISPUTED OR CHALLENGED BEFORE WHEN OBTAINING A CLIENT’S CREDIT REPORT. THIS IS WHY IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ASK A CLIENT IF ANYTHING HAS BEEN DISPUTED BEFORE IN THEIR FILE BEFORE. CREDIT BUREAUS HAVE COPIES OF PREVIOUS DISPUTES AND IF THEY DO NOT ALIGNED WITH WHAT IS BEING SAID NOW, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SUE BECAUSE YOU LIED ABOUT WHY AN ACCOUNT WAS INACCURATE OR INCOMPLETE.

NOTE: It is important to know that if you falsely dispute negative information such saying that an account is NOT your client and it is their account, this can create legal problems for you and your company. It can also send you to jail. You can assist your clients without making or sending false disputes. The key is to help them reach their goal instead of making false promises or claims.