Definition
Credit Repair is any activity directed toward removing negative records from a credit report.
Analysis
The most common credit repair action is to dispute negative items with the credit bureau furnishing the report. Credit bureaus generally require that you have a recent copy (within 30 days) of a credit report in order to dispute items found on the report.
Consumers are guaranteed the right to fair and accurate credit reporting through:
Specifically, consumers have the right to dispute any information on their credit reports. Credit bureaus must investigate the disputed record and correct any information that is deemed inaccurate.
If the creditor that submitted the negative item validates the information in the dispute, then the record will remain unchanged. If the creditor fails to validate the information or admits a mistake, then the information is corrected.
A credit repair service may offer to dispute the information for a fee. These companies dispute everything and rarely are able to do any more than a consumer can do on their own for free.
Related Links
Obtain your free credit report through the Annual Credit Report Service.
