February 5,2009
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Your Credit Card Reputation, Pt.3
– File your disputes soon ‘cause they take a while.Some things, like mis-spelled addresses, may not mean much but, things like foreclosures and credit card defaults can drop your credit card score by 100 points. Bankruptcies can stay on your record for ten years (they do lose some importance over time, however). Expect collection agencies to do their worst to you. Collection proceedings can also bring your FICO Score down 100 points. Some billing agencies like to itemize each charge into their own separate accounts. So if you owe small amounts for ten different items, expect a collection agency to file ten separate ‘derogatories' against you. Though they don't like to, many of these collection agencies will allow you to bundle-up all the cheap ones and offer to remove each them from your credit card report if paid in full soon enough by tacking on a single handling fee. If done separately, a separate handling fee will apply for each event. So, it's important to do it as a bundle and soon.
It seems, these bureaus are quick to respond when someone files a complaint against you but, not so quick to review old and expired reportings. Make sure that none concerning credit cards are older than 7 years (except bankruptcies which stay for 10 years and tax liens which can stay forever or until PIF). Demand that expired citations be removed at once (and good luck). One nice thing is that you can respond to discrepancies and file disputes immediately. As you view your credit card report online, a convenient hyperlink will allow you to write in your reasons for disputing an item. Be sure to download this copy in a safe place on your own computer before leaving the site so you'll have a permanent copy.
The bureau you file a dispute with will be given from 30 to 45 days to investigate your claims. Getting the corrections all in place can take several months, however. We don't usually find out why it takes so long but ‘updating cycles' have something to do with it. Like credit card updates, corrections dates fall on certain days of each month and an earlier process can cause a ‘cycle date' to be missed, causing another month's delay.