Repairing your credit yourself can be an easier process than you think. But patience and persistence are the key.

Take a deep breath.

You are about to enter a battle and the victory goes to the most persistent contender.

The process of correcting your credit report is relatively simple, but it could take a while.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a landmark piece of legislation.

Among other things, it gives you, the consumer, 2 very important rights:

1. The right to dispute items on your credit report.

2. It requires that the Credit Reporting agencies and the creditors respond to your inquiries and disputes within 30 days.

If for some reason the credit reporting agency or the creditor doesn’t address the dispute in time, the negative remarks must be taken off your credit file regardless of whether they are true or not.

The burden of proof for marks on your report is on the creditor who reported the information about you.

In theory this is how it works, but in reality, that 30 day limit is “skirted” by letters to you informing you of their intention to follow through on you request.

All these really are, are stall letters by the credit reporting agencies.  I’ve found that the investigations into disputes when I was with Lexington Law usually take about 60 days to complete, drawing out the process.

The Steps

1.  Get your credit report. There are a few ways to do this, the best of which is getting your hands on your 3-in-1 report.  This is the best way to get a complete picture of your credit because it contains all three reports in one package, and you get your FICO score to boot, usually at no extra charge.

2.  Identify entries on your report that are bringing your score down. Once you get the reports, examine them closely.  This may take a while, but it’s well worth your time.  Find items that may be negative (see the list here), inaccurate, unverifiable or just plain wrong and make a note of them on each report.

3. Write each creditor a letter asking them to investigate the items in dispute. Each creditor has specific instructions on their credit reports on how to dispute an entry.  Sometimes, the dispute process can be done online, making it quick and convenient.

With any creditor, you can use this simple and effective sample dispute letter to dispute an entry.

A fantastic resource is this manual, which includes every letter template, written by a former collection agent.

Be sure to send the letters certified mail and request a return receipt in order to prove the material was received.

What Next?

If your disputed item is verified to be correct, you can ask for a re-investigation.  This is your right!

Depending on the item in dispute and the creditors willingness to defend them, it may take as little as a month to remove a bad mark, or it may take up to a year or more.

Be patient.

The older the disputed item, the better your chances are of having it be removed.  Some creditors simply don’t have the documentation needed to verify an entry.  In other cases, they don’t have the time to defend it, or if it is something relatively minor (like a 30-day late pay) they will choose not to defend it.  In any of these cases, the advantage is yours!

Wash, Rinse,  Repeat.  For each entry you would like to dispute, follow the same process.

Other (Complimentary) Methods to Remove Unwanted Entries

Appeal directly to the creditor.  If it’s been long enough, you can give a call to the creditor and request that the negative mark be removed.

Don’t be demanding, just ask politely and be kind and friendly.  If at first you don’t succeed, you can try again a few months later.

Hire a Credit Repair Company

If you’re daunted by the thought of writing those letters and the time it takes for follow up, consider hiring a reputable credit repair company like Lexington Law Firm or Ovation Law .  But before you do, get a little education here, so you can avoid the scams and find the real companies that will get results.

Get a Credit Repair Kit for Do It Yourself Credit Repair

These kits contain a wealth of information and arm you with tips and techniques to clean your report of all kinds of negative items.

The best (by far!) manual I have found is the one offered by Carreon and Associates. It is chocked full of easy-to-follow “do-it-yourself” credit repair information including timelines and form letters for every situation you run into.

They also contain information about all the laws and regulations that the credit reporting agencies must abide and how you can exercise your rights under these laws to get entries removed from your credit report.