When you are doing credit repair, you will likely send dispute letters to a credit bureau. These letters will list the negative item you believe is in error and the reason you think it is wrong. The credit reporting agency legally must look into the matter. It is important to get an idea of how the process should take place.



1. The credit bureau receives your dispute. If you have been wise, you have sent the letter of dispute by way of registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. When you have that confirmation, you will have proof of when the process was started. Mark that date on your calendar as the beginning of the time frame they have to complete the task. That is when your credit repair efforts go into motion.

2. The credit reporting agency creates a file. They are required to keep track of all the documentation you have sent to them during your credit repair efforts. In order to do this, they must organize the letters and evidence you submit. If they do a poor job of organizing, your proof may be lost. This is a good reason to keep copies of everything for yourself and follow up if you believe your evidence is not being considered.

3. Next, the credit bureau sends copies of your proof to the original creditor. At this point, your credit repair is in the hands of the companies who have possibly damaged your credit. After all, the creditor is the source of the complaint on your credit report. They should be able to clear up any misunderstandings. At least, that is the theory.

4. The original creditor investigates your dispute during this phase of credit repair. They gather any information they have on your account and put it together to try to come to a conclusion. When they have searched their data banks, they may or may not have enough evidence to build a case.

5. The creditor must provide proof. The creditor should gather all the documents that pertain to your account. In a fair world, they would consider all the information carefully for accuracy. However, the creditors often send the credit bureaus a cryptic answer, such as saying that the debt has been verified. Credit repair depends on real proof or lack of it.

6. If the creditor cannot provide proof, the negative item must always be dropped. If you get a simplistic answer to all your carefully documented evidence, you must not let it go at that. You can push for a more specific answer about your credit repair dispute and the credit bureau is obliged to get one. If the creditor does not send adequate proof, the negative mark must be dropped.

7. You will find out the results. Expect to get a notification of everything that was determined about your credit repair dispute. In cases where the item you have disputed has been removed from your credit report, you will be given a new credit report with the corrections apparent on it.

Credit bureau investigations can seem mysterious to someone who has never dealt with them before. In fact, they are somewhat complex and can take time to complete. However, it is always to your advantage to be patient enough to give them a reasonable amount of time to work. Your credit repair will go more smoothly if you do.