If they delete the information or account, fantastic! That is what we are after. Most consumers don’t realize that once a negative item is deleted it has an immediate impact on their score. Credit scores don’t change daily or hourly, a credit score is only generated when it is requested and is calculated based on the information that is on file at that time. For example; on Monday, derogatory information is reported on your credit report. On Tuesday, derogatory information is deleted. When you order a new credit report it is as if the derogatory information was never reported. Your score is based only on the information on file at the time you order your report.
Once the information is verified it’s usually the end for most credit repair companies, but it’s where the most powerful part of Credit Law Center’s process begins. When the creditor or collector “verifies” the questionable information our attorneys send a debt validation demand. A debt validation demand is a legal document that contains 6-9 questions depending on what type of an account is in question. The creditor or collector typically responds in one of two ways: First, they see that the account was just disputed the previous month and now they are being contacted by a law firm. They know they can’t verify the account or that they are misreporting it, so they delete the account. Second, they choose to answer the 6-9 questions. When they answer the debt validation demand our paralegals compare the creditor or collectors answer to the investigation response to the first dispute. When we compare the answer to the investigation results we typically find discrepancies or incomplete information. The incomplete information or discrepancy is usually a violation of the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) or the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Act). Our firm uses this information as leverage to request a deletion. This is the most common result. If this leverage does not work the file is moved to one of our attorneys which will decide whether to move forward with a lawsuit or further negotiations.
If they update the information this means they were reporting incomplete or inaccurate information. This is not a violation as the creditors or collectors reporting information cannot violate the FCRA unless the account information is disputed. This is very important and why properly disputing and documenting the dispute process is so vital to the credit repair process. The third and final step after we have challenged the questionable information and the creditor or collector has validated the information, we will negotiate a settlement for deletion. This means you agree to pay the account as long as the creditor or collector is willing to delete the account information from your credit report. Usually, this can be accomplished for less than the full amount of the account balance.
