A bad credit rating can keep you from buying a house, renting a car, or even sending flowers. yet most people don't know how to find out the status of their credit or how to fix it if it's bad.
This book can save you time and money. Written by a journalist and a credit consultant to the mortgage industry, The Guerrilla Guide to Credit Repair tells you how the major credit bureaus compile your credit history, and teaches you how to deal with them if there is a problem. Easy to use, the book shows you:
--How to contact three major credit bureaus and get a copy of your credit report.
--How to decipher and understand the report's complex codes, numbers, and implications.
--Step-by-step, how to correct errors and clean up your credit history.
--How to use your legal rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Billing Act, and the Truth in Lending Act to protect yourself against credit abuse.
Sample credit reports, form letters, and proven techniques for credit repair makes this an invaluable guide for all consumers.
Many Americans, we are told, are loaded with personal debts. While paying them may be burdensome enough, not paying will register you with one of three main (secretive) credit bureaus. Getting your name cleared from these outfits may take some doing if things don't go smoothly. Bierman, a credit consultant, and Wice, a freelance writer, show how to get your credit reports, read them (jargon reigns here too), and repair them. Practical step-by-step routines are outlined and valuable sample letters scattered throughout, with the caveat not to copy them precisely or the credit bureaus will suspect that you are being coached. Appendixes citing all the relevant laws fill a third of the book. Surely this will be both a useful addition to public libraries and probably an item to be kept behind the desk.
- Alex Wenner, Indiana Univ. Libs., Bloomington
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Anyone who has ever been turned down for a loan as well as anyone with an extensive credit history should read this guide. It spells out clearly and succinctly how to obtain copies of your credit report, how to read different bureaus' reports, and how to fix what's wrong. Sample letters are given throughout each stage, from writing credit bureaus for your complimentary annual report to writing a cease-communication letter to collection agencies. A multitude of appendixes give everything from credit-bureau addresses to simple explanations of such complex pieces of legislation as the Consumer Credit Protection Act and the Fair Credit Billing Act. With this guide in hand, reading your credit report and correcting errors will never again seem like impossible tasks. Caroline Andrew
