Sample Credit Repair Letters

Letters to Validate

1. Debt Settlement Proposal To Collector

2. Validation by Creditor To Verify Debt

3. Validation by Creditor To Verify Debt Hard Core

The theory of this debt validation format is that when all else fails, you can still sometimes accomplish your goals by simply convincing the creditor that you are more of a pain to deal with than it is worth.

4. General Letter of Dispute to CRA's

5. Hard Core Dispute to Creditor

6. Dispute Credit Report... a Variation

You have the right to challenge all incomplete, erroneous, or misleading entries in your file. The credit bureau must re-investigate each entry. If the entry cannot be verified, it must be deleted. Include a copy of your report with circled items and list them in your letter. Be aware that sometimes items are simply deleted if the credit bureau feels the re-verification is not worth the effort.

7. Dispute Findings

As a result of your request for a re-investigation of any credit item on your file, the credit bureau may decide against you.

Though they must notify you by mail, you do not have to agree and may dispute their findings. The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows the consumer to have a 100 word statement added to their file for clarification purposes. If so desire, submit your statement directly to each affected bureau. Keep your statement simple and fact oriented. If needed you may want to include actions you have taken to correct the situation.

The consumer may also petition the credit bureau to re-investigate their findings and supply the name of the company which verified the findings so that the consumer may follow up directly.

8. No Response To CRA Dispute

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) states the credit bureau must respond to your dispute within 30 days except in Colorado, Connecticut, and Massachusetts which is 5 days; Maine and Maryland which is 12 days; and Louisiana which is 45 days.
The number of days allowed is ample considering the fact that most creditors are already online and more are joining everyday. FCRA also states that if the item cannot be verified, it must be removed from the consumer's file.

9. No Response To Second CRA Letter

It is unusual that a credit bureau will ignore two request and not respond.
However should this occur, send a follow up letter with a copy to the Federal Trade Commission.

10. Estoppel - Unanswered Validation

Per Electric Law, Estoppel is defined as, "A bar which precludes someone from denying the truth of a fact which has been determined in an official proceeding or by an authoritative body.

An estopple arises when someone has done some act which the policy of the law will not permit them to deny. In certain situations, the law refuses to allow a person to deny facts when another person has relied on and acted in accordance with the facts on the basis of the first person's behavior."

The estoppel letter is used when you request validation and don't get a response from the Credit Agency. It uses the "doctrine of estoppel" which in VERY general terms means that "your continued silence means you agree with me and therefore you must stop what you're doing [in this case, reporting to the Credit Reporting Agency]".

11. Debe Settlement for Suggested Reducement

12. Settlement Letter For Debt Already Written Off

13. Request Separation of Individual Credit File

Whether separated, divorced, married, living alone, or living with parents, you are entitled to your own credit file.

A separated file is an excellent strategy especially if the person with whom you are merged has bad debt which is not in your name. Even if you both have bad debt, separating the files can be mutually beneficial because individually, each has less bad credit to overcome. Send a letter similar to the following to each of the three main credit bureaus.

14. Merge Credit Files

If married, you and your spouse can merge credit files. This can be beneficial if one of the two has very limited or slightly blemished credit and the other file is excellent. Send a letter similar to the following to each of the three main credit bureaus.
Special Note: If one of the two has credit blemishes, be sure that the person with good credit follows up after the files are merged requesting their file be removed from the person with bad credit. In this way, the person with poorer credit is merged with the good credit history, but the good credit history stands alone and is not affected by the bad credit.

15. Request A Credit Report

Your credit file may be different from each of the three national credit agencies. Since each may have varying entries, it is wisest to access all three or to get a joint report from companies which offer this device. If you plan to get just one report, check with local merchants to find out which bureau handles the majority of businesses. At least in this way, your report will represent a majority of potential creditors.

If you have been turned down for credit recently, you are entitled to a free copy of your report. If not, you can obtain one whenever you want for a small fee.

16. Request Creditor for "Goodwill Adjustment"

17. Demand Creditor To Cease and Desist

You have the right to demand all contact from creditors be ceased. By law, communication must stop at that time except to notify you of other legal actions.

Be aware that issuing this letter forces a collection party to take another course of action because you have blocked all communication. Quite often, legal action is the resulting course and you will be obligated to court ruling.

Also be aware that even if this obligation is straighten out, the creditor still can make no contact with you because you have requested them to cease communication. This can be to your disadvantage with issuing billing statements, interest paid, pay off amounts, etc. But it could also on occasion work against you since by law, the creditor cannot talk to you.

18. Harassment

A collection agency cannot engage in a number of activities in order to collect a debt.

A debtor may not be contacted before 8am or after 9pm nor at a place of work if the collection agency knows calls are not permitted. A collector may not oppress, abuse, threaten, or use obscene language. The collector cannot misrepresent nor mislead nor add aditional charges. A review of the Fair Credit Collection Practices Act reveals more.

19. Billing Error

You must respond within 60 days of the mailing of a bill in error, in order to expect action by the billing company.

Include supporting information as well as the correction. Send your letter to the customer service department and not the billing address. The company must acknowledge receipt within 30 days. It must also correct the error or notify the consumer why the billing is correct within 2 cycles or 90 day maximum.

20. Refusal To Pay

Should you charge a product on a card and not receive the product or if you receive defective or sub standard merchandise, you can legally refuse to pay if certain conditions are met.

You must have tried in good faith to resolve the problem with the merchant, the cost must exceed $50, and the distance must be within 100 miles or within the state.