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Disputing negative credit information usually cannot be done all at once. It is better to challenge the most severe items immediately and then move onto less severe items.

Bad credit items impact your score differently depending on their severity. Recent judgments and collections are often the most damaging.

Here is a complete list of the negative credit items along with how much impact they have on your score.

Public Records/Bankruptcy are the most severe. Public records include tax liens and court judgments. These items are allowed to remain on your credit report for 10 years - as opposed to the seven years limitation rule that applies to other items.

When you file bankruptcy, you will have multiple negative credit items. You will have the bankruptcy itself as well as any items that were included in the bankruptcy case. All these notations are equally severe.

Collection items are very severely damaging. Try to negotiate with the agency for a complete deletion. You do not want to have a paid collection, or settled collection on your credit file.

Foreclosure/Repossession are likewise very severe. These listings are severely damaging to your score and can keep you from getting the next mortgage or car loan.

Charge Offs, especially recent charge offs are indications of a very severe credit risk. A charge off can often lead to multiple negative credit listings. The original creditor will list the “charge off” as well as the subsequent collection agencies that purchase the debt.

A recent late payment is especially bad for those people with previously good credit. It can instantly lower a credit score that you have spent years to establish. The scoring formula believes that a late payment may be a sign of impending financial meltdown.

Moderately severe items include a 30,60,90, or 120 day late payment. These items can either be disputed with the credit bureaus or negotiated with the creditor.

Old late payments are less severe. As late payments “age” the credit bureaus consider them less and less. Late payments that are six or seven years old have almost no impact on your credit score.

A wrong address or employer listing has no effect on your score. Plus, the credit bureaus will probably update this eventually.

In sum, dispute the most severe credit errors first. These include, among other things, bankruptcy, public records, and judgments. Then, move onto charge offs, collections, and recent late payments.

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The free instant credit report is processed online, you can never receive this report manually, and it usually takes some days to process. The offline or manual process is ordered for by either calling or sending a mail to the physical address of any of the national consumer bureaus. They will then process your request and give you a feed back. This process can take the maximum time of 15 days to finish, this time frame isn’t definite, and it can be faster or can even be delayed. Whether or not a report is free depends on the kind requested. There are basically three types, which are: the annual, the consumer and the business credit report.

The annual credit report is a report of the consumer credit history, given yearly on demand from all the three national consumer companies. The Fair Accurate Credit Transaction (FACT) Law mandated all three nationwide bureaus to give all consumers in the US a free copy of their credit report. So, every US citizen is entitled to a free report yearly. Other subsequent requests have to be paid for.

The consumer credit report is also an account of the consumer’s credit history given by any of the three national bureaus. It differs from the annual because it can be demanded for any personal reason at anytime. The free annual report is an obligation of the consumer companies to produce yearly while the consumer report is not free. You can get an instant consumer credit report any time you need it online by paying for the service rendered.

Free Instant online credit report contains a complete summary of your personal information. It contains your name, your residential addresses, contact number, Social Security number, month and year of birth as well as your employment information. It also contains information about any bankruptcy in your credit report. Your financial institution may periodically obtain your credit report so as to maintain your up to date records.

The basic strategy of most credit repair companies will be to encourage you to challenge absolutely everything on your credit report with your credit bureau. The idea is to inundate the bureau with more requests then they can respond to in a 30 day period, because remember: if the bureau can’t provide documentation for something on your file in 30 days, it must be removed. It is questionable, however, how effective this really is: although the bureau must remove items within 30 days if they fail to document them, in most cases the companies will continue to investigate the claims, and when they eventually do find the proper documentation the items will be added again.

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Many credit repair companies make bold claims to fix your credit report. They claim that no matter what the individual’s credit problems are, the company can fix them. Is this true?

No, fraudulent credit repair companies exist and take advantage of individuals with a low credit score. It is rumored that the fraudulent companies take millions of dollars from consumers annually.

This happens because people with bad credit are often frustrated paying high fees and interest. So they naturally look for a way to avoid these high costs.

What about guarantees? When a credit repair company makes a guarantee you should use extreme caution. This company is probably a phony and only interested in collecting money from you, not actually repairing your credit.

There are some credit repair companies that are trustworthy and will fight on your behalf. These companies are often more efficient than individuals because they are familiar with the credit bureaus tactics to avoid investigations. These companies can be forceful in getting the credit bureaus to act.

When looking for a credit repair company, look for warranties or refunds if results don’t occur instead of guarantees. Also do your homework and see what is being said about the potential company by other people.

The credit bureaus use stall tactics to avoid investigating disputes in hopes of the individual giving up on the process. They have found this to be more cost effective than to grant investigations. Furthermore the bureaus function is to give a value on the likelihood of repayment based on past behavior.

If you are tired of paying for a mistake made in the past I recommend repairing your credit. It is a good idea to hire a credit repair company that can throw their weight around and force the credit bureau to respond to the dispute process. I recommend Lexington Law firm they have been in business for over 15 years with proven results.

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