Credit Repair Agency

[LS2982]

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@Anonymous wrote:

You all rock! I have ordered my credit reports and am calling each of them to ask about having old items removed. Am I correct in asking them to remove anything that is over seven years old? Moondancelady 

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CO's and collections can remain on your CR for 7 - 7.5 yrs from DoFD (date of first delinquency). If you have accounts close to this old your best bet would to let them fall off. Have you pulled your free reports from annualcreditreport.com yet?

[alex22]

Hey this is Alex and I am soooo glad that you guys are here!  So much to learn and understand, but there is already no doubt in my mind that I am plugged in with the right group of people.  Raising my credit score is a top priority for me at this point and there seem to be a lot of options available for this.  I looked some into Lexington Law and I guess one concern I had was that I heard they like to dispute only a few negative items at a time.  I have 23 negative items.  Wouldn't this keep me in longer than I need to be?? Or not, I really have no idea.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[RobertEG]

When it comes to disputes, many feel that they can throw out disputes in the hope that the dispute wont be verified, and thus secure easy CR removal.

Not, in my opinion, a good tactic.

Before contemplating a dispute as part of credit repair, I would first ask the basis question.... is there a real inaccuracy in their reporting?

If not, a dispute is simply not appropriate.  Disputes without some showing of inaccuracy will result in a dispute flag, screwing up FICO scoring until resolved.  They can also be dismissed as frivolous or irrelevant if unsupported.

If the inaccuracy can be corrected by the furnisher, then deletion is not a required outcome.  Thus, the question, is the inaccuracy harming my score, or worth pursuing?

If a disputable inaccuracy is worth pursuing, does it rely primarily on your supporting documentation?  If so, then a CRA dispute is not the way I would go, as your supporting documentation will be stripped away by the CRA when forwarding to the furnisher through their automated e-OSCAR process.  To ensure the furnisher receives your documentation, it's best to use a direct dispute. 

Credit repair organizations are exempted from even assisting a consumer in the preparation of direct disputes, so they can actually be a detriment if your plan involves legitimate disputes.

[alex22]

Robert,

I love this information, very interesting and an eye-opener to say the least!  Thank you.  The one thing that stood out to me the most was the last paragraph, where I was a little bit confused when you said that credit repair organizations were 'exempted' from assisting a consumer. Is there any possible way to clarify what you meant by that.  Especially your use of the word 'exempted'.  I just want the best  option for me as it relates to my credit future.  Thank you so much Robert for your time and consideration!

[RobertEG]

FCRA 623(a)(8)(G)  Exclusion of credit repair organizations

This paragraph (direct disutes) shall not apply if the notice of the dispute is submitted by, is prepared on behalf of the consumer by, or is submitted on a form supplied to the consumer by, a credit repair organization, as defined in section 403(3), or an entity that would be a credit repair organization but for section 403(3)(B)(i).

The enacting federal regulation sets forth in section 16 CFR 660.4(a) that a furnisher must investigate a direct dispute that meets the requirements of that section.

Sections 660.4(b) and (f) state that they can dismiss any direct dispute without investigation as frivolous or irrelevant  if a credit repair organization was involved in its preparation.  The consumer could use a credit repair organization, but the furnisher can summarily dismiss the dispute on that basis alone.

16 CFR 660.4(b) Exceptions

The requirements of paragraph (a) of this section do not apply to a furnisher if

(2) The furnisher has a reasonable belief that the direct dispute is submitted by, is prepared on behalf of the consumerby, or is submitted on a form supplied to the consumer by, a credit repair organization, as defined in 15 USC 1679a(3), or an entity that would be a credit repair organization but for 15 USC 1679(3)(B)(i).

16 CFR 660.4(f)  Frivolous or irrelevant disputes.

(1)A furnisher is not required to investigate a direct dispute if the furnisher has reasonably determined that the dispute is frivolous or irrelevant.  A dispute is frivolous or irrelevant if......

(iii) The furnisher is not required to investigate the direct dispute because one or more of the exceptions listed in paragraph (b) of this section applies.