Chances are you are looking for advice, looking for credit repair software, or dispute letter templates, especially 609 dispute letters if you are reading this article today. After all, credit repair companies are expensive and most are scammers right?
I wanted to take the time today to offer some real guidance to those who are looking into who are looking for DIY Credit Repair, or credit repair in general. I wanted to start by disclosing that you are indeed reading an article from a credit repair company, and yes I would love to have you in my credit repair program, but I would rather leave you with solid advice, and at least educated on what to look for and how to go about fixing your own credit effectively, than to have you as a paying customer who was burned by a DIY Credit Repair program that promised you the world and left you with a credit report full of disputed tradelines.
Does DIY Credit Repair Work?
Let me begin this by saying YES. Yes you can fix your own credit. I did, and now I am reaping the benefits of my restored credit. So much so I am currently building a new home. I will also disclose that many credit repair business owners have done the same even if they are unwilling to disclose or admit it.
So, yes you can have some success in fixing your own credit. Especially, if you have the right knowledge and resources. However, today I want to show you the options, and what to steer clear of. The last thing I want is for you to come to me later wishing you had hired a professional credit repair company to do it for you. I will disclose that the credit repair process is MUCH HARDER for the credit repair company to help you after you have used another company, or did it yourself with minimal results. Just ask my friend Derek Louw with Consumer Credit Auditors (for all those on the west coast reading this) who has been in the credit repair industry for over 25 years.
What Options Do I Have With DIY Credit Repair?
The internet has no shortage of options for credit repair. Some even offer you the chance of starting your own “million dollar” credit repair business. You can find anything from dispute letter templates, dispute letter generators, to credit repair “gurus” who have facebook groups that teach you how to fix your own credit. Below is a list of your options and discussion of the good and bad.
- Fixing Your Habits – This alone will work wonders with your credit. Unfortunately, we were not educated on how to manage credit, or even know what the credit reporting scoring models (FICO, VANTAGE) are looking for when generating a credit score. Of course, everyone knows paying their bills on time is the biggest factor, but there are several factors that make up a credit score. If you want a little more rundown on the credit scoring factors, you can read my first post on credit building. Learning those factors, and building your credit and habits with credit around those factors is the hugest thing you can do to skyrocket your credit score.
- Credit Repair Software – Time to take the soapbox on this one. I won’t name names, but this is one of the sore spots in the credit repair industry. If you have googled or searched on Facebook for credit repair software, chances are, your newsfeed and ads you see are centered around fixing your own credit with a subscription to the software, but at the same time will have given you all the tools to become a million dollar credit repair business in 2 weeks or less. Not only is that as far from the truth as it gets as far as having a million dollar business, but in 2 weeks or less? Talk about deceptive advertising! It takes a lot more than software to run a credit repair business. It takes months to years of education and experience to really help consumers fix their credit! Also, it can take years to build a million dollar business as well, any successful entrepreneur will tell you that. Some softwares do provide decent and factual letters, others non-factual “609” letters (more on that later). One particular software company advertises that their dispute letters cannot be ignored by the bureaus. News Flash: Look at the CFPB’s website, the bureaus are ignoring whoever and whatever letters they want, regardless of who the letter came from or its construction.
- Self Help Credit Repair Books – This is the rabbit hole many consumers fall into. Disclaimer, not all books and associated programs are bad, but the vast majority I have seen are absolutely useless! Some of these books come with upsells like private Facebook groups, and dispute letter generators. I would venture to say 9 out of 10 of these programs employ non-factual disputing (aka 609 disputes). On top of that they speak of bogus strategies like freezing LexisNexis to prevent a bankruptcy from being reported, or to remove a bankruptcy. Personally, I began my journey with a well known program, and regretted every bit of it because once I was becoming professionally trained, using that program made my personal credit repair process that much harder and it took longer to accomplish my end goal. Honestly, unless you really dig down and do your homework, I would steer clear of the highly advertised self help books.
- YouTube & Social Media “Gurus” – Once again you will find a lot of really bad, and a couple really good resources. Many of these self-proclaimed “gurus” spout off the same junk found in most of the self help books, in fact some were the authors of said books. Here I will name some names, of those I trust and actually give some valuable information. Steven Palmieri who teaches a Pre-Litigation credit repair (one of my mentors early on), Attorney John Watts who really is a master of teaching you how to read a credit report, and how to really dispute debt collections, finally I highly recommend Tradeline Supply’s YouTube Channel where credit industry expert, John Ulzheimer shows you how credit works. I am sure there are other good resources out there, but these are the ONLY ones I am willing to put my name and reputation in endorsing.
- Dispute Letter Templates Online – There is no shortage of dispute letter templates online. The bad thing is, nearly all of them are “609” dispute letters that are absolute garbage. I wrote an entire article about 609 dispute letters that is worth reading. Another reason to steer clear of online templates, Thousands of others have already used that letter before you, and thousands more will use it after you. The credit bureaus aren’t stupid (at least in this arena), they have seen these letters perhaps hundreds if not thousands of times a day. No matter how much law they quote, your chances of ending up in the frivolous pile is extremely high. If your letter does make it past that scrutiny, your chances of getting a one size fits all form letter response with no resolution at all is extremely high. BE ORIGINAL in your disputes, and write them yourself. Even if your tradeline only gets “modified or corrected” at least some action was taken on it.
Credit Wellness Solutions’ Path to Home Ownership DIY Credit Repair FREE Training Course
After careful thought and consideration, and also being burned by a self help credit repair program, “Credit Secrets” (there I named it). I am so adamant about consumers having a good source of information to be empowered to fix their credit, that I am GIVING AWAY my DIY Credit Repair training ABSOLUTELY FREE! The program and training
videos are nearly complete. The course will be hosted on my website. Simply register for an account, and choose “Path to Home Ownership Free Training”, and join the Path to Home Ownership Free Training Forum. If you would like some extra help with the process, you can choose “Path to Home Ownership Premium Support”. You will have full access to contact us anytime for help, and have access to our Premium Support Forum For the low cost of $29.95/month.
Final Thoughts
DIY credit repair can be a daunting task. It takes a lot of research, time, trips to the post office, and commitment. Do your research before you use any program (including mine). In fact, even if you choose to use another source, I hope you have gained some valuable insight on the process and what program you are using, and what to avoid if possible. Thank you for taking the time ro read this blog! God Bless and good luck!
