Should I dispute all derogatory items at once??

[caramia1225]

Hi all,

I have been through a bunch of the great resources and threads on this site.

I have 12 derogatory items on my credit report consisting of the following:

10 - Revolving credit card accounts - all charged off

2 - Collection agencies - both duplicates of the revolving credit card accounts

From what I have read, my first step should be to dispute all with the CRA's.

I have two questions:

1) I ordered my 3 in 1 credit report to get all my info. Is this okay? I have seen posters on the board say that you are better off getting each individual report because it has more information.

2) How do I format my disputes? Do I send them all at once? Separate letter for each or all in same letter? Send all in same envelope? This may seem silly, but I do not know if I say "account is not mine" for all 12 in the same letter or multiple letters in one envelope that it will seem frivoluos.

Thanks!

[diamonddan73]

Check your PM.

[daherc]

i think most would suggest all separate and space them out. like 4 1 month and then 4 the next month.

was the PM helpful? post it?

[caramia1225]

Hi daherc,

Thanks for your suggestion. I received advice to first dispute my name, address, and employer info, then hit them with all creditor disputes at once because they only having thirty days to verify all.

I wouldn't post diamonddan's PM without his permission. If he wanted it on the board maybe he would have just posted it. So maybe PM him and ask his advice.

From what I read about the e-Oscar system, it sounds like they just generalize your dispute down to a general 2 digit code and if the reporting agency has at least one word or piece of info matching the listing then they report it as verified. Also, if you include multiple disputes in one letter, then only one item might get picked up to even verify at all.

I am still unclear on whether that is a good thing or a bad thing and have not been able to get an answer.

I mean, if you send one letter with all 12 disputes, and it only verifies the first and ignores the other 11, then they don’t meet their 30 day limit on those 11. So then do they have to remove them if they don’t meet the deadline?

I also read on this site to first hit them with the “it’s not mine” dispute, then as they come back verified, keep sending a dispute for another reason, then another, until one comes back “unverified”.

I am trying to devise my strategy, but just have not been able to get enough information to form a detailed plan yet. I read the advice on this board, but there is not enough detail to answer these questions.

I guess the sending disputes over and over until one sticks makes sense, it’s just the part about whether to send them all in one letter, separate letters, or what, that is confusing to me.

If anyone reading this can offer any info on strategy, please chime in.

Thanks!

Edited October 21, 2012 by caramia1225

[creditsamurai]

I would offer this advice:

1. Do not dispute online. In my experience, it will most likely be verified. Also, it's harder to establish a paper trail. If you mail your disputes CMRRR, it makes this much easier.

2. I agree that sending 3-4 each month is the smart way to go.

3. If something is verified, request the method of verification.

4. Make sure that TLs are marked "disputed" as there is some evidence that doing such lessens the impact of negative TLs. Also not marking disputed TLs as such is an FCRA and FDCPA violation.

5. Don't get fancy and start quoting laws. KISS.