Credit repair experts agree that the best way to work to clean up your credit is via good old fashion snail mail. Sure, you can submit credit bureau disputes online and you can talk to creditors on the phone, but by putting everything in writing you will have a paper trail as proof of everything that gets said.

As you get started with learning about repairing your creditscore, you will find out that there are many different types of credit repair letters you may need to use. There is no perfect credit repair letter that will work for for everyone. Instead, you'll have to find the right letter for the task at hand.

Credit Repair Letters

are a few examples of categories of credit repair letters you may come across as you attempt to clean up your credit score. This does not include each type of letter, but it does give you a general idea of the variety of letters you may need to compose.

Credit Bureau Dispute Letter

The credit bureau dispute is what most people think of when they think of credit repair letters. The credit bureau dispute is your message to a credit bureau telling them that you would like them to confirm the accuracy of a listing in your credit file. You are basically telling the credit bureau they need to prove that an item is recorded correctly. If they cannot do so, then the item must be updated or deleted.

By law, you have the right to dispute items that are inaccurate or, in your opinion, give whoever looks at your credit reports an unfair impression of your creditworthiness. You should not dispute listings that are accurate and verifiable.

Credit Bureau Dispute Follow-up

The credit bureaus are supposed to process your dispute and follow up with you within 30 days, but this does not always happen. You may need to send a follow-up letter stating that you have already sent in a dispute, that the credit bureau was supposed to have replied, and again detailing which item you are disputing. This letter lets the credit bureau know that you are serious about correcting your credit and you will not give up just because you don't hear back.

Goodwill Letter

As mentioned above, not all negative items in your credit report can be disputed with the credit bureaus. Plus, just because you dispute an inaccurate item doesn't mean it will be bypass the credit bureaus and deal directly with the creditors who are reporting the negative item.

The goodwill letter is the least confrontational of these credit repair letters to creditors. In it, you are asking nicely for the creditor to stop reporting the negative item. You may bring up your current good standing with the creditor or request sympathy because of the effect the listing has on your credit rating in your request for the deletion.

Debt Validation Letter

If a credit bureau dispute is ineffective and the creditor is not receptive to your playing nice, it's time to get rough.

By enforcing your rights under a number of consumer protection statutes like the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Billing Act, you can make creditors and collections agencies have to jump through specific hoops to prove that a debt is owed. As is the case with the credit bureaus, if they are unable or unwilling to do so, the negative items must be removed from your credit reports.

Getting Help with Credit Repair

After researching credit repair and credit repair letters, or even after beginning the process of repairing their own credit, people often times see how difficult credit repair can be. Fortunately, there are many reputable credit repair companies who have the knowledge and the experience to help make the process easier.