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How to Write Your Dispute Letters

When you are writing dispute letters to the credit bureaus, there are tricks that will help to make sure your letter gets manually reviewed, and it will increase your odds of getting accounts deleted. The reason for using these tricks is so the bureaus will believe the letters were written by you and not by a credit repair organization. Also, you want to use this system because the bureaus use a computer generated program called e-Oscar to filter through consumer dispute letters. With this system they are able to send letters through it and send you back a generic, standard response that will not help you at all. By incorporating these tricks, you are able to “clog up” the system and an employee at the bureau then has to actually read your letter, giving you a better chance at receiving the results you desire.

Here are some ways to make your dispute letters stand out:

· Use colored or non-standard paper
· Using a different size paper (i.e. smaller note pads or larger tablet styles) can create difficulty for the agencies
· Use multiple types of fonts, not the standard “Times Roman”
· Create a stationary type header for your name and address
· Use different color fonts
· Whether they be necessary or not, always put staples across the top of the paper. This causes difficulty in the input process.
· Be informal in the letters. They do not have to be perfect and free of grammatical and spelling errors. Do not use legal terms until it is absolutely necessary.

When you write letters to the creditors and collection agencies, they need to be totally different. You always want to appear to them like you know all your legal rights. You want all your letters to these companies to written in a polished, business style.

Make sure all dispute letters to credit bureaus, creditors, and collection agencies include:

· Your full name: first, middle, and last including any suffixes if applicable
· Your complete mailing address
· Enclose proof of address (i.e. a copy of your driver’s license and a utility bill with your name on it)
· Your date of birth
· Your Social Security number
· Name and account number of item(s) disputing
· Specific reason for each disputed item
· Specify desired outcome of your dispute(s)
The envelopes for credit bureaus should be handwritten with colored ink and a different type of stationary. You want to get really creative with them. However, with creditors and collection agencies, none of that is necessary. Just use plain black ink and standard envelopes for them.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Credit Repair Letters

1. Don’t make the credit bureaus think a pro wrote your letter. Make it as authentic as possible.
2. Don’t use the form letters you find online or in credit repair books word-for-word. The bureaus know those letters like the back of their hand. The letters are fine to use as an example of how to write your letter, but rewrite it in your own words.
3. Don’t use legalistic terminology with credit bureaus.
4. Don’t supply too much information. You might inadvertently verify negative information.
5. Don’t dispute positive accounts because they could get removed entirely.
6. Don’t put your signature on the letters you send out. Signatures have a pesky way of jumping from one document to another.
7. Don’t send a collection agency any blanket cease and desist (C&D) letters. C&D letters will prevent CA from being able to communicate with you and possibly resolve your dispute. Leave the option of writing you open to the CA.
8. Don’t send any bankruptcy papers or papers relating to a bankruptcy to the credit bureaus.
9. Don’t add 100 words statements to credit files.
10. Don’t send your bank statements to collection agencies just to prove that you made one payment.
11. ALWAYS send your mail to collection agencies, creditors, and credit bureaus via certified mail. This way you have legal proof of what you have sent them and when it was received by them.
12. Remember, there is no guarantee that the items you dispute will be deleted or removed. Just try, try, and try again!