Friday, December 26, 2008

Removing Bankruptcy From Credit Report

By Matt Douglas

If you have filed bankruptcy you should expect your credit will be severely damaged. However there is hope, you can take action to remove your bad credit and by building some positive credit you can have a high score.

Contrary to popular belief this mark can be removed from your report and without waiting 10 years. To remove this mark we suggest:

1. Dispute the listing with the bureaus directly.

You can do this yourself or hire a service to dispute the mark on your behalf. Did you know that the bureaus do not check public records when they investigate an item? Public records are where this mark is recorded and where the bureau would find verification.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act says that a listing that in not verified must be removed from your report. Additionally this act says that you can dispute any item you feel is inaccurate on your report. It is a common concern about the legality of repairing your credit; you will never have any legal consequence for disputing a listing.

Before you dispute the bankruptcy it is a good idea to make sure that all other negative marks read "included in bankruptcy." The reason is once the initial bankruptcy mark is removed you will dispute all the other negative items because you do not have a bankruptcy mark on your report. There are rumors that it is much easier to remove this mark after two years.

2. When your bankruptcy mark is erased, you can start to dispute each negative account.

You will be able to challenge the mark on the basis that your report does not show a bankruptcy. Therefore each item should be deleted by the bureaus upon investigation.

3. We suggest you start building positive credit. This is most effective by opening a new revolving line of credit such as a credit card.

When you make your on time monthly payments you will create a positive payment history on your report. Additionally this will help your utilization ratio, this is how the bureaus decide if you are in over you head financially. It is measured by the amount of available credit you have versus how much debt you have. These are the two biggest factors when your score is calculated.

It might not be the most ethical to dispute items you know are accurate on your report. However is it ethical for lender to charge you 30% interest rate for missing a payment, no matter how long you have been a model customer?

In sum you don't just have to live with bad credit. You can remove the items and you can do it today. You can create a high score for yourself by removing the bad items and building positive marks. This will save you; on interest rates, embarrassment from a low score, and give you the purchasing power you deserve. - 16955

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