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In The Media

Christine’s Credit Report Question

by Larry Chiang on November 18, 2014

By Larry Chiang
Christine had a basic question about credit. I will be quoting from the “Ultimate Credit Handbook” and the FCRA. 

Larry Chiang (@LarryChiang)
Q @Quora What is the best way to get a small infraction removed from my credit report?

Christine, here is my answer in three parts…
/1/ Pay the infraction direct to the entity. 

[These tips are based on not seeing your credit report]
A super common mistake occurs when you pay the collection agency. Often the collection agency doesn’t report back to the original entity that you have paid. Another common mistake is not paying with a paper check. You want to pay with a paper check so that you have a “paper trail”.
For example, you owe for a parking ticket in Mountain View CALIF. Some random rental car contract connected you to a ticket. Anyway, you never knew and now it’s in collections for $120. So you shouldn’t pay the rando collection agency. Write a paper check with the original ticket number in the “memo” section. 
2/ Choosing to not pay.
Most people have “a small infraction” (also known as a charge-off) that hits their FICO score 80-100+ points. 
Choosing to not pay isn’t a good choice. If you are choosing to not pay, prepare 31 envelopes. Then text me. Make sure you have 31 USA postage stamps. Make sure you have 31 #10 envelopes. 
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08610 TA
Seriously, google “08610 TA”
3/ Have you seen exactly the “small infraction”?
In the majority of instances, the small infraction is either larger or smaller than the consumer believes. 
Solution: run your own credit report. 
There is a Duck9 method derived by CS majors (computer science majors) to run a credit report without a trace (thereby running a credit report doesn’t result in a demerit for your FICO 😉
image.jpeg
If you’re in the lower 48 states, text me. I’ll get your process going. 

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