Free Credit Repair Assistance

Thank you to all my blog readers and newcomers for all the compliments on my blog.  I enjoy helping you learn how to fight back and fix your credit.  I have done this for many years and love hearing about the many successes people all across the country, and sometimes people from other countries, have had because of the information I have freely shared.

I respond to many, many emails, many, many phone calls and tons of comments here on the blog.  I don't hold back and help give the best information I can.  I have done credit repair for  over  30 years and have been very successful for my clients.  I've shared tactics and strategies and legal information that almost no-one else shares, and certainly no one, as in credit repair professionals, ever shared the amount of information, knowledge, and secret strategies with others back when I began on my mission to educate others, and still to this day. 

I've had plenty of professionals contact me and tell me I should stop sharing so much information because then too many people will try to do for themselves what we do for our clients and it affects our income.  (I admit that I've shared so much information that it has cut into my income too).

Anyhow, it feels good to be able to have helped so many people, including other credit repair professionals that have needed guidance on how to proceed with their clients.  I have a favor to ask of all of you now.  I am feeling a bit awkward asking this but I feel I need to.

If you have learned anything valuable from my blog; if you have experienced success with your credit repair because of information I have shared; if you have made comments and I have responded with information that was useful to you and to others; if I have helped you through emails or phone calls, I'm asking that you please show your appreciation by making a donation.

I would also like you to make a comment on here to let me know what areas of fixing your credit you need me to write about.  Your comments and your donations will help me keep this blog active with relevant and needed information.  I appreciate you and I thank you in advance for your generosity. 

Why You Can Remove Liens, Judgments And BK's From Your Credit Report

It is always so frustrating when you are trying to build, re-establish your credit or get financing and you keep getting turned down because your credit doesn't meet the criteria needed.  I think one of the most frustrating things is when you go to buy a house and you find out that you have a judgment on your credit, many times that you had no idea was even there.

Sure, you expect to see that bankruptcy, but sometimes you aren't even aware that you have tax liens and judgments on your credit.  It feels like you're doomed and will never get that loan. Its frustrating because if you spend money on paying them off, you're cutting into the money you need for your down payment and closing costs.  And if its a bankruptcy that's killing your score, you can't even pay to resolve that.

But what if I told you that you can legally remove them?  Would that make a difference?  I hope so because I'm telling you, you really can LEGALLY remove them. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that they are ILLEGALLY being reported on your credit report. The bureaus have  a responsibility and a duty to remove them. But you have to know the game in order to beat them.

I want to be clear that just because you remove them from your credit reports does not mean that they are also deleted from the public records.  The credit bureaus and the county records are two completely separate entities. Your bankruptcy will still be recorded in the public records and you can't remove it from there. Judgments and liens will still be recorded in the public records but those are things you can actually remove from public records as well as your credit reports.  I'm not going into that today.

I've been very, very successful removing these from both the public records and credit reports. This is because my idea of a fun night, is one spent reading laws and case law and researching and developing strategies to tackle these issues successfully.  I'll tell you that it's way faster and a bit easier to remove them from credit reports than public records. 

So today, I'm going to teach you why you can legally get them off your credit reports and why I believe the law is clear that bureaus need to remove them.  If you've read my earlier posts about 3rd party collectors and removing collections, you'll see that its the same laws that affect the public record information that shows up on your credit reports. These same laws are part of what I use to remove them from credit reports.

When you look at your credit report, it tells you the name of the furnisher of the information. That may be a credit card company, auto lender, mortgage lender and sometimes collectors. When you look at the public records, you'll see that they claim it is the bankruptcy court or the superior court or the county recorder. Sometimes it says a magistrate or recorder of deeds. Whatever place it shows, they are saying that that court house or recorder, or whatever, is furnishing the information.

That's a bold faced lie.  Then the bureaus go so far as to claim that they have verified the information when you send them a letter disputing the information. That's an even bigger, fatter lie. Do you actually think that the courts have hired people to furnish details about the hundreds or thousands of cases and about the losing party, to the credit bureaus? Do you think courts and county recorders have time to verify the thousands of disputes bureaus get every day? That's just one issue.

The big issue is, do they have the legal right to furnish or verify information?  Ahh, now that's where we look to the law and that's where we find the answer that the bureaus don't want you to know!  Before we even look at the law though, let's look at the legal definition of "verify" or "verification."  Now, I did a post on this word a while back. Its really important that you understand this definition.  Its part of the, um, I can't think of the word I want but , sort of the strategy of what ties everything together. Let me take a bit of that post from last year and show you here how it ties things together.

Verification according to Black's Law Dictionary is "... averment that the party pleading is ready to establish the truth of what he has set forth." Also, it goes on to say, "The examination of a writing for the purpose of ascertaining its truth; or a certificate or affidavit that it is true." 

The court said "Confirmation of the correctness, truth, or authenticity of a pleading, account, or other paper, by an affidavit, oath, or deposition." McDonald v. Rosengarten, 134 111. 126, 25 N. E. ; and Summerfield v. Phoenix Assur. Co. (C. C-) 65 Fed. 296; and Patterson v. Brooklyn, 6 App. Div. 127, 40 N.Y. Supp. 581.

To break it down into language you can understand, verification is sworn testimony. It can be testimony in a deposition or in court or an affidavit. The only testimony that is admissible is testimony from a witness with First Hand knowledge. A court clerk does not have first hand knowledge nor does the county recorder, nor does anyone at the credit bureaus, nor does Lexis Nexis, the main public records source for the credit bureaus.  If someone verifies but they don't have first hand knowledge, then its not verification, its Hearsay. And hearsay is inadmissible and the court says its incompetent. 

This is a major puzzle piece in figuring out how to go at the bureaus and get your public records removed.  The next major piece is based upon a law that applies to 3rd party collectors.  This has been discussed in a previous post as well. The law I'm referring to is FCRA § 603(o)(5)(A)(i; iii). This law in fact, applies to more than just 3rd party collectors. It applies to every single entity that furnishes information to the credit bureaus.  Here's what this law says:

FCRA § 603 
(o) Excluded communications. A communication is described in this subsection if it is a communication 
(5) with respect to which 
(A) the consumer who is the subject of the communication 
(i) consents orally or in writing to the nature and scope of the communication, before the collection of any information for the purpose of making the communication;
(iii) in the case of consent under clause (i) or (ii) given orally, is provided written confirmation of that consent by the person making the communication, not later than 3 business days after the receipt of the consent by that person;

So, even if the courts or recorder's office was furnishing the information, other than getting a court order to furnish the information, they are not allowed to furnish or verify squat on your credit report without your authorization. If you have one of these public records on your credit, did you give the bk trustee your authorization to furnish information about your bankruptcy? (not that he/she would have the time to do that). Did you authorize Lexis Nexis? The courts? The county recorder's office? Anybody?  Did you authorize anyone to put negative public record information on your credit reports?

Yeah, I doubt you authorized anyone to furnish that information and I doubt there was ever a court order to have it on there either.  Hopefully now you'll believe me, or at the very least, understand why I say that you can legally remove these items from your credit reports and why I believe they are illegally being furnished and verified when you try to get them off.

I'm not one to brag, but I have to say here that I am extremely good at what I do. I'm not saying that I get everything off in one shot, and actually, removing public records is a multi-step process. But, I'm saying that I consistently and successfully remove these items from people's credit reports all the time.  I can't remember when I haven't been able to remove them. The power to do this is in the laws, in the definitions, and in the way you word things, and the way you follow up everything with enforcement. 

Hopefully I've given you enough information that if you choose to pursue the removal of these items on your own, you too will see success.  But, if you want someone to help you that has a proven track record, almost 3 decades of experience, I would like it if you'd get a hold of me. My contact information is up at the top right hand side of this page. 

These days, prospective home buyers have a hard enough time getting qualified for a loan with decent credit, you can imagine the hurdles they must face when the credit report has these types of negative items on it.  I want to help you if this is your situation.  I want to help you if you need to buy a new car. I want to help you if you want to get some new credit cards or you just want to clean up your credit. I love what I do. It is my passion and I'm good at it. 

I love seeing clients' credit reports go from awful to spectacular. I love the fight. I love sparring with collectors, creditors, and bureaus. Most importantly, I love to win.  When I win, its Your win. When I win, your ugly credit report becomes a pretty credit report. That's what I love to do. I love to help consumers have pretty credit reports that allow them to get the loans and credit they need at interest rates that don't choke the life out of you. I love  to help consumers save money on their insurance, their utility deposits, their ability to rent a car, to be able to get that new job or keep the job that scrutinizes their credit.

I love this so much that right now I'm running a special. From now until September 5, 2014 or the next 25 people, whichever comes first, I will go after the removal of a public record for half price.  I would say that I will remove it, but the law does not allow me to promise or guarantee results.  I know what I'm able to do, but I won't break the law in my processes nor in my claims. Bureaus, creditors, and collectors may lie, but I won't. So, again, I will go after the removal of a public record item at half the regular price, for the next 25 people or September 5, 2014, whichever comes first.

Please don't hesitate if you want to save some money on this. I fill up my client rotations quickly.  The sooner you contact me, the sooner we get started and the sooner you can expect to see a prettier credit report! Please call or email me today.

PS: If you are a loan officer, real estate agent, insurance agent or someone who has clients that need my services, anywhere in the country, please contact me. I want your turn downs. I'm willing to earn your business and send you back clients who are able to qualify and get better rates. My services will help you close more deals.  If you are a real estate agent or broker, I offer an airtight non-compete that I believe will put any of your worries about that issue to rest. I'm not looking to act as your clients' real estate agent. I'm looking to get their credit where it needs to be so you can close deals.

PPS:  I also do lunch & learns and workshops for your potential buyers and agents in Southern California. My partner and I come and show how we can help your clients become homeowners and how we can help your office close more deals!  Please contact me today!

If you have found this blog helpful to you, please consider donating as a sign of your appreciation for information I have freely given to you.  The "Donate" button is on the right side bar.  Thank you for your generosity.

 

Credit Bureaus Break The Law And Fight Your Credit Repair Efforts

I've been wanting to talk about this for a long time now.  I have been very successful in my efforts to help people clean up their credit reports for many, many years now.  I tell people that it used to be fairly easy.  I would examine the credit reports, find the errors, find the information that was negative, write letters to the collectors, creditors, and bureaus, and within a couple months, most of the items would be removed.  I could look at a credit report and tell the client, this will easily come off, this will take a few letters, this might give you some trouble, and this might not ever come off. I knew how to remove pretty much anything negative on credit reports, and any inquiries or personal information that the client wanted off.  You see, I know for a fact that no company has to leave any information on anyone's credit report for 7-10 years.  In fact, none of it has to ever be reported at all.  There's no law that requires any company furnish information about a consumer to any credit bureau.  But, that's not what they will tell you!  And its not so easy to get good results all the time anymore.

When I say "they", I mean the credit bureaus, creditors, collectors, the FTC, and plenty of website owners, bloggers, article and editorial writers, any of them that just regurgitate the lie that bad credit has to stay on your credit  report for years and years and only time will heal.  They love to say if it belongs to you, even if its negative, it has to stay on.  Now, I can give a pass to the writers that are just incompetent egomaniacs striving to justify their self acclaimed "expert" status.  They're lazy and haven't bothered to really research the laws on the subject, but the rest of them "in the business", they are flat out, just BIG FAT LIARS!  They know full well or should know full well, that these claims are a load of crap.

In recent years, the industry folks that we must communicate with, have made it so much more difficult to clean up the credit reports.  There is a push back against obeying the law by these lawbreakers. They don't seem to care that they have no proof, they've committed fraud, they've allowed errors or false information to make their way onto consumer credit reports and stay there.  They have found that they can make so much money even while breaking the law, its more profitable to keep breaking the law and hope that the consumer gives up.  In fact, they are so twisted in their games, that collectors and creditors are coming out of the woodwork and suing consumers a lot more often now and issuing 1099-C's without proving squat, that my mind is boggled.  They sue just because most people won't or don't know how to respond and they get default judgments.

Credit repair is not as simple anymore as just writing letters and stuff comes off the credit report.  Credit bureaus are in flagrant opposition of the law and they know it, but they seem to think that if they keep spewing lies, and bloggers and self proclaimed "experts" keep repeating it enough, the consumer is stupid enough to believe it and accept that their reports are just going to have to stay bad for 7-10 years.  Consumers aren't stupid!  Some may be lazy. Some may not have very good research skills or access to a computer to study and learn, or a library with relevant information, but my readers aren't stupid and they're consumers.  You aren't stupid because you kept looking for answers. You're on this blog learning the truth. You didn't just accept their lies. You knew in your gut that what you've been told is not the truth. You kept looking till you found someone who would confirm it to you.

I want to share a segment that 60 Minutes did on credit bureaus. After the video, I've got a link to Experian's response.  What a crock!  I'll make a few comments after the video about the video and about their response.

First I have a comment about some claims made in the video.  There is No Way I believe only 40% of consumers have errors on their reports. Maybe more like 94% would be closer to the truth. I find it funny that the FTC claims there is only 1 out of 5 consumers with "an" "error" on their report.  I think the operative words in his statement are "an" and "error".  He could have dropped the word "an" and said "errors" instead of "error" and then it would have been more than his claimed "1 out of 5".  This is complete spin.  He could have also used the phrase "obvious errors" and been more accurate, because without actual investigations, they cannot "accurately" determine how many errors there actually are.

Now, here is a rebuttal by Experian. (Read my comments before you click on the link so you can see what I'm talking about). http://www.experian.com/blogs/news/2013/02/11/60-minutes/

This is comical.  They falsely claim they are 100% in compliance with the FCRA. What a big load of BS! Even worse, I think every single person and company doing credit repair should join together and file a huge class action lawsuit for their slander.  They have the gall to insinuate that we are all scammers and commit fraud with their statement, "...the result of dispute requests from fraudulent credit repair companies who attempt to scam consumers into disputing accurate data..." which clearly shows how much they hate consumers who attempt to clean up their credit and anyone who attempts to help them or hold the bureaus accountable and compliant with the law.

You can also see by their statement, the itty bitty section I quoted, that they continue to spew the lie about negative information if accurate, needing to remain on the credit reports.  Well, I'm no dummy and I don't think any of you are either. They're not going to fool us by trying to phrase their false claims into a sentence that has the potential to sound factual. I'd rather research the law and rely on what that says, any day, over what any bureau rep or one of their lobbyists, tries to force me to believe.

So, though its harder now and takes longer, credit repair does work. We need to use laws against them. We must continue to hold their feet to the fire. They tell the truth that you can repair your credit yourself but that's about the extent of their honesty. Sometimes people don't want to handle that burden all by themselves.  Most of us who help others fix their credit do so with a good heart and a desire to help others.  If you would like help with your credit, I would love to help you. You will see that I do have a heart for helping others.  You can call me and talk to me or email me and I'll respond.  My contact info is up on the top right corner under my picture.  You can also leave a comment below if you like this post or I've helped you with your credit.  If you have questions, please email me as well as posting a comment.  That way, others with the same question will get the benefit of my answer but in your email, I can be a lot more specific for your needs.

If you have found this blog helpful to you, please consider donating as a sign of your appreciation for information I have freely given to you.  The "Donate" button is on the right side bar.  Thank you for your generosity.

What Is A Validation Demand Letter?

If you are going to work on repairing your credit, you really need to know what a validation letter is, what is requested/demanded, who it goes to and why you can use this.  Many credit repair companies, and people who work on repairing their credit themselves, don't use the validation letter, and so, are not as successful at improving their credit report.

The law that gives you the right to demand validation is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  It is a federal law.  The exact section of the law that requires them to validate when you request it is 15 USC 1692g Sec.809(b).  This law says:  "If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) of this section that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector. Collection activities and communications that do not otherwise violate this subchapter may continue during the 30-day period referred to in subsection (a) unless the consumer has notified the debt collector in writing that the debt, or any portion of the debt, is disputed or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor. Any collection activities and communication during the 30-day period may not overshadow or be inconsistent with the disclosure of the consumer’s right to dispute the debt or request the name and address of the original creditor." 

You will notice that the law uses the word "Verification" but it actually tells them that they have to send you the copy of that Verification - the PROOF, which is the Validation, of the alleged debt.  Now, I know it says the 30 day period in there.  But this is when they obey the law and notify you within the first 5 days of initiating collection activity, that they are going to be trying to squeeze money out of you that doesn't belong to them and you have the right to dispute it.  You will also see that it says "verification of the debt."  You will notice that they don't want to send you the proof of the alleged debt, they only want to verify the name, address, original creditor info and amount, to you.  They don't like you to require them to send proof of the alleged debt because they can't.  They don't have a valid contract with you. 

Now, this law applies to all 3rd party collectors.  It does not apply to original creditors. For original creditors, many states have fair debt collection laws that mirror the FDCPA but also include original creditors.  I just love when my clients are in one of those states.  (I did another post sometime back about disputing with original creditors.  Look for it on my list of posts on the right side bar if you need help with them).  Now, at the end of this post, I'll touch more on this law above and clarify a bit more on it. 

You have the right to demand validation from your alleged collectors.  Most of the time you will know who they are because they report negative credit against you on your credit report.  Occasionally you will just get phone calls and letters in the mail from some obnoxious collection company that you don't see on your credit report.  I should warn you, though they might not be on one of the big 3, TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, they might be reporting against you on Innovis, another big credit bureau that enjoys a lot of activity from collection agencies, and who hardly ever gets made aware of to unsuspecting consumers like you and me, so they can secretly destroy your credit without too much notice.

Validation is NOT Verification, though many collection companies love to mix the two up.  They do this for their convenience.  Its their little scapegoat method of avoiding the production of validation, which they cannot fully do.  You know when they're pulling this little scam, trying to convince you that they're right, you're not, you have to pay them.  Their response letters to your specific demand for validation will say something to the effect of, "We contacted the original creditor and they verified that the name, address, account number and amount we are reporting is correct." I didn't see the word "Validation" in that statement, did you?

Validation is the production of PROOF! Physical, paper, PROOF! Sometimes its an audio recording, you know, the crap that they insist on doing for "Quality Assurance?'  Validation is producing a contract between you and them.  You should want to see both sides of it, front and back, to prove there were no alterations rendering it void, after you signed it.  An alteration can be any markings, any staple marks, something that changed the piece of paper in any minute way after it was signed.  But, if they are a 3rd party collector, you don't have a contract with them.  They can't produce one because they buy alleged bad debts, they don't originate them.  

3rd party collectors should also prove that they have the right to collect on the alleged debt.  They should show the proof that they purchased it or were assigned it.  There are a number of states that require them to be licensed or bonded or both, to do any collection business there.  In fact, in Illinois, not only do they have to be licensed in the state, they have to be licensed in Chicago for any alleged debts they want to extort, um, attempt to collect on for Chicago residents.

Collectors also should provide validation in the form of a complete transaction history.  Every charge, every payment, every interest charge or other charges and fees for the entire life of the alleged debt.  There are case laws backing this up.  Another big thing that is required for validation is whether or not the alleged debt is Time-Barred.  This means it is outside the Statute of Limitations for your state.  This is a number of years that varies from state to state. It can be as little as 3 years to as long as 15 - which is absolutely ridiculous, I have to add.  This is a great way to make them go away.

I include a lot of things in my letters demanding validation. I tell them I want to see a contract between me and them. I want to see the front and back of it.  I want to see the full accounting and I put case law in there.  I want to see the documentation giving them the right to collect on the alleged debt. If the client is in a state that requires licensing/bonding, I tell them I want to see that. (I actually look them up every time for this, so that I can throw it in their faces if I see they are not, or they have been spanked by that state already).  I tell them I want them to prove that everything they are reporting on the credit reports is 100% accurate. I want them to prove the alleged debt is not outside the statute of limitations for my state.  (When I've checked and it is, I throw that at them too)!

Now, I actually get more intense on my letters.  I tell them they need to prove that they have a valid contract (at least the 4 basic elements) and that the original creditor had a valid contract, (at least the 4 basic elements), and I want to see that original contract, front and back.  I want them to prove there was no fraud committed.  I want them to provide the source of the funds that the original creditor used to actually lend the money that funded the credit.  (Oh, wait!  They don't lend money do they? They lend what is called "Credit Money" and that's illegal!  They create it out of thin air).

Towards the end of the letter I add a "Limited Cease and Desist" and a call to action.  The call to action is to prove it or remove it immediately. Prove it by providing me everything I requested, in writing, and not some cheapo, dummied up computer print out or hearsay typed onto the letter saying "we investigated and yep, we're doing everything accurately and you owe us".  The real deal.  The actual original or copies of the original documentation. 

You should be including most of these things in your letters to the 3rd party collectors. At the very least, they should be providing the contract between you and them, the contract between you and the original creditor, the full accounting, the proof they have the right to collect, proof they are accurately reporting to the bureaus, and proof the alleged debt is within your state's Statute of Limitations.   There are only 2-3 things in this list that they can lawfully provide that they can send you.  They can make claims that they validated fully, but that's a lie.  The only things they can really produce is the original contract (which is not a valid contract because the original creditors ALL commit fraud), their proof that they have the right to collect (which is paper proof for the game of collection but according to 73 AmJur 2nd Ed. Sect. 90, they have no right to collect anyway if they were not on the original valid contract), and whether or not the alleged debt is Time-Barred.

Now back to the FDCPA 15 USC 1692g Sect 809 (b).  This law mentions the 30 day period.  But, what if you are demanding validation after that original 30 day period, does it apply?  Yep, it sure does.  The 30 day period applies to you when they send you the original "Dunning Letter" within 5 days of starting to collect on the alleged account.  But, if you demand validation after that point, the law still applies.  They are required by law to produce the validation or cease collection activity.  Do they have to produce the validation?  Nope, but then, they also cannot resume collection activity until they do.  This law protects you!

Now, when you send out your demand for validation, you need to send it Certified Mail with Return Receipt. Costs a little over $6 for each letter but it is worth it, oh man, is it worth it.  If you get sued and they didn't validate, and you have the proof you demanded it, you can beat them in court.  That is proof of their violation of Federal Law!  Many times you will get a response back saying they will be removing it from all the credit bureaus. Love those!  Sometimes they give other stupid responses letting you know that they would rather continue to violate the law than obey it, because extorting money from people is their game and they don't stop without a fight.

To find out how to respond to them, look at the previous posts I wrote about a month or two ago I think, that tells how to fight back in your follow up letter.  Oh, one more thing, as soon as you get the green card back that proves they received your demand for validation, dispute with the bureaus.  It is against the law for them to verify (its considered collection activity) without first validating.  Many will come off by using this procedure - demand validation first, hit the bureaus with disputes second.  If they verify, they've just broken another law!

If you don't want to have to write all the letters yourself and would like me to help, please email or call me.  I love the game. I love helping you beat them! My email and phone number are up at the top, on the right hand side.  I answer emails and answer my phones.  I write letters for people in all 50 states.  The letters I write are not the junky stuff you find on the internet and they are not the form crap that the biggie credit law firms use to drag out the process (costing you more), and that don't work effectively all the time.  (See my post on credit law firms!)  I write great letters that get results! I'd love to write some for you too!