Going To The Mattresses.

That Sonny’s runnin’ wild. He’s thinkin’a going to the mattresses already. We gotta find a spot over on the West Side. Ya try — 309 West 43rd Street. You know any gooda spots on the West Side? -Clemenza

1. Credit report — check
2. MS Word — check
3. Witty form letters — check
4. Big Bowl of Enthusiasm — check
5. Gin & tonic — half-empty

I started culling through my credit report and let me just say that this thing is a mess.  Not so much my credit, but there appears to be loads of duplicative and erroneous information.  One charge-off from Chase, two collection agencies, three closed accounts, and six entries for Sallie Mae.  The latter is pretty interesting since five are closed/paid; however, I only had one loan and that’s current.

Rather than tackling all of the credit reporting agencies (CRA) at once, I decided to start with writing letters to Equifax challenging what’s reported on my credit report (CR).  I trolled the Web for examples of form letters and most ran the gamut of really crappy to so-so.  I took elements from what I found and put together a letter that seems pretty good (we’ll see, right?).

With Equifax I am “disputing” the validity of 12 entries on my CR and asking that the information be updated and/or expunged.  Rather than including a list of accounts in one letter, I am sending three letters with four account disputes each.  Tomorrow, I’ll make way to the post office to have these sent certified with receipt.  Then the waiting game begins.

To get started, you will need:

1. Up-to-date credit report (Free here)
2. Dispute letter – will post mine tomorrow (as a template for use) with insight on what should and should not be included
3. CRA Address – Equifax – PO Box 9563, Allen TX 75013

Send ALL correspondence certified with a return receipt.  It doesn’t matter who at Equifax signs for your letter-even the janitor-it is considered legally received when someone accepts and signs for it.  

Ensure that you communicate your current address so that any responses are received by you in a timely fashion.  Finally, follow-up on any responses from the CRA, i.e., requests for additional information and the like (but be smart and research the Web first to find the best possible response).  I have added a link to CreditNet, which is a board for people looking to fix their credit and they have some very good information posted.

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