If you’re one of the many consumers in Michigan who wants the best possible credit score, credit repair lawyers can help. But to be clear, these specialized attorneys actually work to have errors removed from your credit reports. Of course, if your goal is to fix your credit report, this is a great first step.
If You Want to Fix Your Credit Score, You Have to Check Your Credit Reports
Recently, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette released his annual list of the Top Ten Michigan Consumer Complaints. And, for the tenth year in a row, credit and financial concerns dominated the list. A total of 1,217 complaints were received in this category, and 641 of these complaints were about credit reporting and debt collection. So, it’s clear that Michiganders are concerned about what’s on their credit reports and whether or not their credit scores are accurate.
Unfortunately, about 80 percent of consumer credit reports contain errors of some kind, and many of these mistakes can depress your credit score. This is why it’s good to get into the habit of checking your reports from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian (the three primary credit reporting agencies) on a regular basis.
What do you do when you find a mistake on one, two, or all three of your credit reports? The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) protects consumers against inaccurate credit reporting. So, if you dispute an item in writing to the appropriate credit bureau, then it is legally obligated to conduct a reasonable investigation of your claim, and they have 30 days to respond.
Sometimes, credit reporting agencies fail when it comes to investigating consumer claims. In fact, in a recent report published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), this agency accused the credit bureaus of NOT conducting reasonable investigations regarding consumer disputes. So, someone who’s trying to have an incorrect item removed from a report often finds that the process is broken and frustrating. They may have to write several letters and spend a decent amount of time on the phone in order to get their issue(s) resolved. Sometimes, that does not solve the problem either. This is where credit repair lawyers can help.
How Lawyers Get Errors Removed from Your Credit Reports
If you contact a credit repair lawyer, you will be asked to pull your credit reports if you haven’t already done so. Copies of these reports will then go to the firm you’ve selected so that all of the items that you wish to dispute can be identified.
After this, your attorney should help you send letters to the credit reporting agencies or lenders that are responsible for the inaccuracies on your reports. The law firm will also ask if you can produce supporting documents to back up your claim. The bureau(s) and/or lender(s) will then have 30 days to make their investigations and respond.
Then, one of three things will probably happen:
- The credit bureau or lender concedes that your dispute is valid, and inaccurate information is removed from your report or updated.
- The bureau or lender claims that your dispute is invalid. But if you have evidence to back up your complaint, the law firm may sue on your behalf.
- The bureau or lender fails to respond at all within 30 days. If this happens, your attorney will simply re-pull your credit reports, and these documents will serve as evidence that the lender or bureau is in violation of the FCRA, and they will be sued.
Before contacting a credit repair lawyer, you should request copies of your credit reports from the three major bureaus. Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), you’re entitled to a free copy of your report from each of the agencies every 12 months. And the easiest way to get all three at once is to go to www.annualcreditreport.com. This is the only government sanctioned website from which to get your credit reports.
Fix Your Credit Score with Free Legal Credit Repair in Michigan
Some credit repair lawyers charge fees for their services, and some don’t. At Credit Repair Lawyers of America, we will fix your credit reports without charging you anything out of pocket. Instead, under the law, we can and do collect our fees from the defendants.
Let’s talk about how we can help you get better credit. Set up your free consultation today by calling Attorney Gary Nitzkin at (248) 353-2882 or emailing him at [email protected]. Or, if you would like a little more information about who we are and what we do, please visit our website at www.creditrepairlawyersAM.com. 
