| If you are trying to clean up your credit, one thing that | | | | But when they do read your statement, they don't see |
| you can do is dispute negative items on your credit | | | | a one-time hard luck story, they see that you're |
| report. | | | | confirming that you didn't pay. |
| This involves writing a letter or filling out a form and | | | | Don't be tempted to tell your side of the story. Have |
| sending it to the credit bureaus. The credit bureaus | | | | you ever known a child who keeps talking until he's |
| then have 30 days to either verify or erase the bad | | | | gotten himself into trouble? That's what you'd be doing. |
| mark. | | | | Generally, in the words of a cop drama, "these words |
| One of the things they will encourage you to do is to | | | | can and will be used against you." |
| write a 100 word statement that can appear alongside | | | | Essentially, what you are doing is "proving" the case |
| the black mark. | | | | against you. |
| Don't do this! | | | | For instance, when you say that you didn't pay |
| It may appear to you that this is your opportunity to | | | | because you "lost your job," what the credit bureau |
| explain the reasons why you didn't pay. You might | | | | sees is that you didn't pay. They don't care what your |
| think it would put you in a sympathetic light when | | | | reasons for not paying are. Their job is only to show |
| someone reviews your file. | | | | whether you are a good credit risk based on past |
| The first response I have to this is that most of the | | | | performance. |
| time, no one reads your credit report. They simply look | | | | Your excuses simply become their ammunition. |
| at your FICO number. | | | | |