How To Remove A Repo Off Your Credit?
Having your car or any other property that you own repossessed can be one of the most stressful and humiliating experiences. However, apart from surrendering your property, a repossession will also hurt your credit score and credit history extensively. This is so because when a lender has repossessed an item you have failed to make payments in as much as you agreed when obtaining credit, the said lender will report the repossession to the three major credit bureaus, namely; Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. This negative mark will then appear on your credit reports for up to 7 years from the time that it was reported.
However, the bad news is that these nets cannot be removed immediately from your credit reports even after 7 years of being repossessed. This will help you to increase your credit score and increase your chances of being approved for credit and loans in the future. Here is how to: How to get a repo off your credit report:
Challenge the Accuracy of the Repo
This is the first approach one should try when dealing with a repo is to dispute the repo directly with the credit bureaus. It means that you can protest the item, either online or by post, or both. If you challenge through the credit bureau’s website, you will be guided through the questions about the inaccuracy and confirm the details. However, if you decide to write a dispute letter and send it instead, make sure to attach copies of documents to support your case.
According to the FCRA, the credit bureaus are supposed to investigate all disputes within one month. This implies that they should contact the lender or the debt collector who reported the repossession to ensure that they provide the correct information. If the lender cannot justify or support the repo, the credit bureau must delete it from your credit reports.
It is a critical process since creditors and collectors sometimes provide wrong information. If you did not have your property foreclosed, challenging the error and submitting contradictory evidence should eliminate it. At least if the repo did happen, if there was a mistake for example wrong date or the creditor name given the credit bureau will remove it after conducting an investigation.
Renegotiate With Your Initial Credit Provider
If this fails, the next course of action is to report the discrepancies to your initial creditor, or the lending institutions that provided you credit. Make sure they understand that you plan on rebuilding your credit score and you are kindly asking them to remove the repo from the credit bureaus. You can come up with one or more reasons such as loss of employment, illness, or any other reason that made you unable to fulfill your obligations in terms of payments.
Next, inquire if they are willing to write a letter asking for the deletion of the negative mark in return for you paying off the balance on the loan or credit account. Try to offer to sign a new payment plan, pay off the entire amount, or some other course of action that will meet the debt. If they agree and instruct the credit bureaus to remove the repo, then the repo should not be included in your credit reports.
This type of ‘‘goodwill deletion’ is within a lender’s legal discretion but not obligatory. This is possible if you had a good relationship with the lender for a long time before the repossession took place. This is because keeping good relations with the lender through polite and cooperative communication will also be of benefit.
Submit Consumer Statements
If you are unable to get the information removed through disputes or direct communication with the lender, consumer statements might be another available choice. This way, you ask the credit bureaus to attach a 100-word statement to your credit file describing why and how your car was repossessed. This statement will appear to any lending or credit checking institution that goes through your report.
This is the intended method of explaining the negative item in such a way that the reader would have sympathy oforthe side of the item. Examples of situations include; having to meet expenses such as medical bills, divorce, death of a family member, and other circumstances beyond the consumer’s control. Additional information such as the length of the credit history and the positive credit history of the credit holder can also be of help.
Filing these consumer statements will not cause the repo to be removed from your credit reports. However, they add extra information that could influence potential lenders to look past it and approve your application. However, over time as you maintain a good record of creditworthiness, the effect of the repo will also reduce.
If a victim loses his/her property through fraud, he/she should wait for 7 years before seeking justice.
If you have not been able to remove or explain the repossession through credit report disputes, direct negotiation requests, or the consumer statement, then you may use the final way. It is worth noting that negative information only lasts for up to 7 years but this does not necessarily mean that your credit score will permanently be affected. In general, the impact on credit score is larger, if the repo is more recent. However, as time goes by and other positive information is entered into your credit report, the blow is softened.
Ensure that all your current accounts are up to date, and more importantly, maintain them in this state. Always make the required credit account and loan payments on time, and maintain low credit card utilization ratios. Minimize the frequency of applying for new credit and consider credit builder loans or secured credit cards for improvement. After seven years, the negative repossession will have a minimal impact as opposed to the new positive credit history created.
Of course, repossessions are a rather painful experience in terms of one’s wallet and one’s pride. Thus, while most of them cannot be removed on the spot, they can be dealt with nonetheless. Contest the errors, plead for deletions, bring the matters into perspective, and so emphasize on positive credit established over the past seven years that the information holds. This slow and steady strategy offers the most effective way to undo the credit harm caused by a repo and start the process of improving your financial status.
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