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bureau disputes) once it has been paid. The creditor now has 
no compelling reason to keep the negative listing on your 
report. For this reason, it is still usually a good idea to 
settle even if the creditor wont budge on deleting or 
positively modifying the negative listing.  
Chapter Six: Restoring Bad Credit 
What are the risks of doing it yourself? Ordering your 
credit reports. Organizing Yourself Analyzing your Credit 
Report Drafting your Disputes Sending your Disputes Getting 
a Response Seeing Results Fourth Quarter Strategies Settling 
your Debts Disputing the Information with the Source 
Submitting a 100 Word Statement with the Explanation What 
are the risks of doing it yourself? Most how-to credit 
restoration books include example form letters for the 
reader to use in disputing his negative credit. 
But, employees of the credit bureaus are usually the first 
in line at the newsstand to buy the new how-to book. 
Therefore the credit bureaus immediately spot these standard 
forms. Once the bureau has zeroed in on the structure of the 
form, any such letter will immediately earn a "frivolous or 
irrelevant" response from the checker. Many times, the 
credit bureau will see this as a sign that the customer is 
"yanking their chain" and the checker will "red flag" the 
client's credit report for future reference.  
These instructions will not provide for specific techniques 
or form letters, as the credit bureaus have proclaimed 
publicly that they can spot such forms. Rather, we provide 
general outlines and strategies that you may follow as you 
dispute your negative credit. However, it is important for 
you to understand that there are risks in restoring your own 
credit. These risks are greatly multiplied if you cannot 
dedicate sufficient time to the task, or if your 
organizational skills aren't top notch. Countless 
do-it-yourselfers make seemingly harmless mistakes in the 
process of disputing their credit, only to make their credit 
files worse - ultimately seeking professional help after too 
much damage has been done. 
These risks include: - Red flagging the individual file as 
someone attempting credit repair.- Unwittingly 
self-verifying negative information.- Making statements that 
create a fraud indicator, hawk-alert, or trans-alert.- 
Adding statements to the negative listings which do nothing 
but substantiate them.- Doing anything to tip the credit 
bureau that you are systematically attempting to restore 
your credit. While restoring your own credit may save you 
money, if it is done improperly it can cost you thousands of 
dollars in lost time, hassle, and you may do more damage 
than good to your credit. Ordering your Credit Reports 
Before you begin the battle, you must study the battlefield. 
The struggle to restore your credit will be fought between 
the lines of your three credit reports. 
These reports will cost $8.00 each, unless you live in Maine 
or South Dakota, where the reports will cost $2.00 each. As 
mentioned before, the credit bureaus change addresses 
regularly, so we will provide the current credit report 
ordering addresses, but you may wish to telephone the credit 
bureaus to confirm that these addresses are still correct 
(phone numbers available through www.bigyellow.com TRW PO 
Box 949-0949 Chats worth, CA 91313 Trans Union PO Box 390 
Springfield, PA 19064 Equifax PO Box 105873 Atlanta, GA 
30348 You may also obtain credit reports for free, but this 
method only works if you have recently been denied credit. 
If you have been denied credit in the last 60 days, you may 
write to the credit bureau listed on your denial letter and 
request a free copy of your credit report. It may take a 
little longer than if you simply purchased the report, but 
it will save you $8.00. If you telephone the credit bureau 
to order your credit reports or to confirm their mailing 
address, you will most likely reach their phone mail system. 
 
However, if you do speak to a credit bureau representative 
about any issue, be careful. Say nothing that would indicate 
you are attempting to restore your credit. Don't try to 
submit your dispute over the telephone; it will be hard 
enough to get it right in writing, even with plenty of time 
to weigh your words. Be sure to send your request for a 
credit report via certified mail, return receipt requested. 
Your local post office will provide you with the necessary 
forms. Copy your letters and checks and file them according 
to the date they were sent. The credit bureaus will, very 
often, take your check and send you nothing. Don't despair, 
this is just another skirmish in a long battle. If you 
receive no credit report after you have followed these steps 
and waited about three weeks, then you must send a follow-up 
letter, again certified mail, return receipt requested, 
demanding that the credit bureau forward a credit report 
immediately. Include a copy of your check and your original 
letter. Remember, you have the right to purchase and see 
your credit report.  
Organizing Yourself 
As soon as you have ordered your credit reports and copied 
your order letters and checks, you must create a precise 
organizational system to track your correspondences with the 
credit bureaus and your creditors. Purchase a large, desk 
blotter-size calendar and a fine-point pen. On each date 
box, reserve the top portion of the box for correspondence 
deadlines, such as the date you expect to receive a credit 
report from a particular bureau, or when you expect a 
reinvestigation to be completed. Reserve the bottom portion 
of the date box for notations, including actions you have 
taken, such as when you ordered your credit report, or when 
you sent your dispute letter. Purchase a small file cabinet 
to keep your credit bureau and creditor files organized. You 
should open a file for each credit bureau, two files per 
credit bureau if you are working as a couple. 
Every time you receive a credit report, credit bureau 
correspondence, or you send a correspondence, a copy of the 
document must be dated (by date sent or received by you) and 
filed in the appropriate file. Keep all the documents in 
chronological order in the file. Open another file for each 
creditor. You will also be communicating with the individual