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.
