Body of the Letter

Now let's dig in to the meat of your letter. A greeting such as "To Whom It May Concern:" is generally safe and will work as a greeting to whoever may be reading your letter. This should come two spaces after the date, and the letter text should come two spaces after the salutation.

Despite your credit being of a very personal nature, it's important to keep your tone courteous and straightforward in the body of your letter.when dealing with multiple errors in your report, you should list each one in its own paragraph. State your needs simply so as to avoid any unneeded complications. Also, be sure to call the bureau to action and let them know what you want them to do: "Please remove this item from my credit report."

You should end with a signoff such as "Sincerely" or "Thank you," two lines below the body text of your letter. You can imagine that the credit bueau's employees deal with all sorts of people (some of whom might be less than kind) so, your professionalism and courtesy will be appreciated by them. Don't forget to sign your name and write in print or type or name below where your signature will be.

Things to Remember

In the upper left-hand corner of the page, you should always include your name, address and telephone number in that order. If you have an email address, go ahead and include it as well just below your telephone number. Because you're dealing with a credit bureau, don't forget that Social Security number. It should be placed below your email address (if you have one) or below your telephone number (if you don't have an email address). Two spaces below all this information, you should write or type the credit bureau's name and address. The date should be located two spaces below the credit bureau's address.

• If there's something wrong with your identifying information, correct it at the beginning of your letter before going into any errors you need to dispute.
• Remember that you are just beginning the process and understand that before the item(s) in question are changed, you may need to write many more letters.
• As soon as you receive a letter from the credit bureau, follow up with a letter of your own. The process of correcting errors can be a long one, and you can speed it up by communicating quickly and effectively.
• As stated earlier, professionalism and courtesy are necessary if you want to get results. State your needs clearly, and never threaten the credit bureau.
• The item(s) you are disputing should be clear and specific and should use words such as erroneous, outdated, misleading, and unverifiable. It won't do to explain your situation and ask for the credit bureau's sympathy-you need to state a reason why the listing(s) in question is wrong, unverifiable, or not yours

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