How To Erase Negative Credit In 3 Simple Steps

If you want to erase negative credit from your report, but thought it would be too difficult ... you're not alone. Each year, thousands of people spend literally millions of dollars on credit repair services or agencies because they simply assumed it would be too difficult to do it themselves.

However, the truth is you can repair your credit yourself rather quickly and for little or no money. In fact, you may actually be able to do BETTER than a traditional credit repair clinic because only you have the authority to add positive credit marks to your report over time (I'll explain this better in a minute).

Here, in a nutshell, are the 3 major steps you can take to repair your credit history yourself:

1) Get Your Credit Report

According to the law, you are entitled to one free credit report every 12 months. You can request your report from annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228, or fill out their request form and mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

Once you receive your report, go through it and write down every negative item you want to dispute. Oftentimes, your report will contain mistakes, out-dated information, and even completely false blemishes on your record.

2) Dispute Mistakes And Out-Dated Information

Write a simple dispute letter informing the credit bureaus of specific marks you wish to dispute. Keep it short and to the point. Be sure to include copies of any proof supporting your position. Once the credit reporting agency investigates, they will either be unable to verify and remove the negative credit mark. Or, they will verify the item.

If you still dispute that item, send a follow-up letter requesting how they came to that conclusion, also known as "method of verification" or "procedural request". Remember, the credit reporting agency and your creditor are both responsible for providing proof by law. If they cannot, they must remove the negative credit from your report.

3) Add Positive Information To Your Report

This is where you can outshine and outperform even the most prominent credit repair services. You can add positive marks to your report over time. By simply getting a secured credit card, gas or department store cards, or a small installment loan and paying them on time, you can build up a good recent credit history. (Something no service can do for you)

I recommend finding a good credit repair program or guide and learn how you can erase negative credit from your report yourself, before deciding to hire a service blindly. After all, it is YOUR credit history at stake.