Posts Tagged ‘Letter Template’

The Pros And Cons Of Using A Credit Repair Letter Template

If you are getting bothered by debt collectors or if you have discovered that there is an error on your credit report, then you already feel shaky enough as it is. Perhaps you feel off balance and wonder how these mistakes were made. Under this kind of mind set, you don’t really want to try and learn a new skill, such as trying to write a credit repair letter. Templates of these kinds of letters are available online. But should you use them?

Things To Avoid

If you enter “credit repair letter template” into any search engine, you’ll come up with literally thousands of free templates for you to choose from. Or, should you ditch a template entirely and go with copying the FTC’s recommended credit repair sample letter up on their website?

There are many clues as to what kind of credit repair letter templates or samples to avoid. These are the ones that threaten legal action in words such as, “I’ll sue”. You also don’t want to follow any credit repair letter templates or samples that could in any way be construed as threatening. “You better pay attention to this letter, or else,” is an example of just such a threat, even if you haven’t expressly spelled out what the “or else” means.

You also want to avoid a credit repair letter template that has sentences containing ENTIRTELY CAPITAL LETTERS LIKE THIS. This is not only considered rude, it’s also considered the mark of either an amateur or a scam artist. Letters containing a lot of capitalized words or exclamation points are not taken seriously because they look like they are written by a child.

When Worse Comes To Worse

If this is all very confusing, then you should forget filling in the blanks in a credit repair letter template. Just keep in mind that you need to keep your letter as brief as possible. If you want, it’s all right to say, “Dear So and So: This is a credit repair letter. I want to (whatever you want accomplished).” If you have an accountant, then by all means ask for their advice or for their recommendation of what credit repair letter template to use.

When you are writing your credit repair letter, pretend you are a lawyer. You want to write like a lawyer and not like someone who is angry, upset or frightened. Keep calm, just state the facts and don’t get personal.

Things You Shouldn’t Do On A Credit Repair Dispute Letter

There’s a right way and a wrong way to do just about anything, including writing a credit repair dispute letter. Granted, making a mistake on a credit repair dispute letter is not the end of the world. You may even get the desired results, but it can take longer and with a lot less hurt feelings if you follow a few simple rules. Remember, if you’re still unsure of how to write the letter, check out the credit repair letter template at the Federal Trade Commission’s website. Your bank also should be able to help you.

Explain Everything About Everything

A credit repair dispute letter should be as short as possible. You don’t do yourself any favors by having including your elementary report cards, letters from your Mom and a photo of your dog. All you need to do is inform that you noticed something wrong in your latest credit report, what this is and who you are. You also need to send a copy of the credit report and mark where the problem is.

Wrong Formatting

This really shouldn’t take more than one page, including your address. Be sure to sign the credit repair dispute letter in ink or it will not be taken seriously. You can write the letter or type it. Typing is best, because the recipient can’t claim that they couldn’t read your handwriting. You also don’t want to type in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS LIKE THIS because that is considered rude. It’s the written equivalent of shouting in your face.

Not Following Directions

Your credit report (even the three free ones you are entitled to per year by law) will include instructions on how to properly file a dispute. They tell you if some errors can be solved over the phone. They tell you what address to send credit repair dispute letter to. They even add other details for some of the most common errors found on credit reports.

Fro example, with Equifax, if you discover that your credit report has been filed under the wrong Social Security Number, you need to also include a copy of your Social Security card or a photocopy of your most recent W-2 form. Please don’t send originals. If you don’t send the right paperwork, you’ll merely get a letter asking to send the right paperwork. You can save a lot of problems just by following the directions the credit bureau’s credit repair dispute letter directions.