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Article By: MattDouglas
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The Wrong Way to Dispute Your Credit Report
In paragraph number two of a credit bureau dispute response the bureaus encourage you to add a 100-word consumer statement to your report. This is where many people add a short essay on why they deserve credit.
It is surely tempting to tell your side of the story by way of the "consumer statement." It appears as your opportunity to explain why you have negative items on your credit report. There probably is a good reason why you were late on that payment. Perhaps you were sick or got laid off from your job.
Be cautious about adding a consumer statement to your credit file.
This "concession" by the credit bureaus is not a concession at all. In fact, the 100-word statement will only make matters worse for you.
People often send in statements like this: "I fell behind on my credit card bills, but I have since caught up. My boss laid me off from my job of 20 years. Even though I could not pay my bills, it was only a temporary situation and now I am current."
The unexpected loss of employment may sound like a reasonable explanation to be late once or twice on a credit card bill. Plus, I would give that person credit for catching up on her bills and staying current since the bad financial spell.
However, the credit bureaus and creditors read such a consumer statement entirely different. They don't see a good person who went through some brief and unexpected hard times.
Her inability to make payments is seen as a sign of weakness and/or irresponsibility. They believe that she should have emergency money to pay bills during times of emergency.
Attaching a 100-word statement is really bad for three additional reasons: (1) Such a statement confirms that Yes - you really were late on those payments. (2) The credit bureaus will ignore any future disputes you mail because you already admitted fault. (3) Should you apply for new credit in the future; every creditor will see your candid admission that you are not able to pay your bills during times of emergency - and therefore a bad credit risk. As you can see, attaching a 100-word written statement to your credit report could possibly be the worst step you can take. In fact, it is only an option because it was part of the original Fair Credit Reporting Act enacted in the 1970's. Thirty years ago bankers actually manually reviewed credit applications and read those statements personally.
If a creditor does not read your statement, then nobody will. Most applications are reviewed digitally and so the 100-word statement serves no purpose other than a weapon credit bureaus use against you.
Briefly, the 100-word statement is dangerous to your credit file. It serves no good purpose for the consumer whatsoever.
Article Source: ArticleZones.com
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Looking for quick and effective credit repair? Discover the secrets to deleting charge offs, judgments, collections, late payments, and improving your credit score. Plus, get a free credit dispute letter you can use to delete negative items.
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