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Follow the format in Sample Letter 1 and send it in. Send it Certified or Registered, Return-Receipt Requested. Be sure to keep a copy of the letter for your records, as well as the return receipt, when you receive it.
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I can't tell you how many times people have written to me and told me that they can't understand why a deal negotiated over the phone with a creditor or a credit reporting agency didn't happen, was lost or forgotten by the person or company making the deal
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You see the advertisements in newspapers, on TV, and on the Internet. You hear them on the radio. You get fliers in the mail. You may even get calls from telemarketers offering credit repair services. They all make the same claims:
"Credit problems? No problem!"
"We can erase your bad credit -- 100% guaranteed."
"Create a new credit identity -- legally."
"We can remove bankruptcies, judgments, liens, and bad loans from your credit file forever!"
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Just because you have a poor credit report doesn't mean you won't be able to get credit. Creditors set their own credit-granting standards and not all of them look at your credit history the same way. Some may look only at recent years to evaluate you for credit and may grant credit if your bill-paying history has improved. It may be worthwhile to contact creditors informally to discuss their credit standards.
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If you have questions about your credit rights or feel a creditor has treated you unfairly, contact the regulatory agency listed below.
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Your state attorney general is the consumer's best friend, especially in the area of credit issues. They can advice you how to proceed in all matters of law, tell you what paperwork you need, help you find affordable representation, give you statutes, cite legal precedences pertinent to your state, get you in touch with the consumer protection agency. As a matter of fact, in many states, the attorney general shares his or her office with the state consumer protection agency. I often advise people to give their attorney general's office a call whenever I don't know the answer to a legal question, especially about state banking laws, divorce, bankruptcy and what action to take if a creditor does not treat you fairly. You are not bothering them, the office exists to advise the public.
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If you've taken on more debt than you can handle, don't be discouraged. You're not alone. Thousands of Americans are in the same boat, with many of them carrying huge debt loads. It doesn't matter how much money you make. If you can't live within your means, you become a slave to your creditors.
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Credit card fraud happens every day. It is amazingly easy to open a credit card in someone else's name. Think it can't happen to you?? All the information needed to open an account in your name is floating around on the internet right now! Before I relate this reader's story, I URGE you to pull your credit report if you haven't done so in the last 6 months.
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Many people think that being debt-free is a positive trait valued by lenders. Nothing could be further from the truth. A borrower with no credit is almost as bad as one with bad credit. A creditor wants to see a history of how you handle debts. A person just out of a bankruptcy needs to show potential lenders that they have learned their lesson and are now committed to improving their credit habits.
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Gas cards and department store cards are a good way to rebuild your credit if you are just starting out, but can be tough to get if your credit is already trashed. Also, these cards do not help your credit as much as a major credit card.
Major credit cards are scored higher than "finance cards" (usually a credit card which can only be used at the store who issues it, like Best Buy, Texaco cards, etc.) So how do you get a major credit card if your credit is trashed? Secured credit cards.
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