Members FAQ

(Members)

Here are answers to our members’ most common questions.

1. How do you do remove negative items, and what is the process?
2. Why do you remove Inquiries, Social Security Variations, Address Variations, and Name Variations first?
3. What are the chances of getting particular trade-lines removed?
4. How much will my credit scores go up after each negative trade-line is removed?
5. How many times will the processing department work on a specific trade-line, and what if it gets verified after the first investigation?
6. Why do you only dispute a few items each month, and what determines how many items get investigated in each processing cycle?
7. What items does our processing department work on first and how do you prioritize your order of investigations?
8. How come I am now getting calls and letters from collection agencies?
9. Have you removed medical collections?
10. What are the chances of getting public records (bankruptcy, judgments, foreclosure, and liens) removed? Are they more difficult to remove because they are linked to a court case and documents?
11. What if I see more than one social security number on a credit report?
12. What is a validation?
13. What does “Updated” mean on the investigation results sheet that we get from the credit bureaus?
14. What does “Frivolous Dispute” mean?
15. How should you handle stall tactics by the 3 bureaus?
16. Can trade-lines still be removed after they have been verified?
17. What is an initial fraud alert, how does it happen, and does it hurt the member?
18. Does DoctorCredit USA just send out dispute letters?
19. Why does processing take so long, why can’t it be done sooner? Are you just spreading it out so you can charge me more?
20. Can you remove all inquires? What order are they worked on?

How do you do remove negative items, and what is the process?

The FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) gives certain rights and privileges to individuals, creditors, and the credit bureaus. One of the rights given to individuals is to have any information on their credit report investigated by the credit bureaus if they feel it is not current, accurate or verifiable.

Our processing department files these investigations on behalf of you, the member. This investigation can be initiated by internet, phone, fax, or by letter. It may also be directed to the credit bureaus, creditors, and/or collection agencies.

Once the investigation process has begun; the receiving party has 30 – 45 days to verify the correct information and notify the member. If the information is not current, inaccurate, or unverifiable it must be removed from the credit report, or updated with new information that will let it remain.

Our processing department employee working your file will determine which methods to investigate based on their training, experience, and current trends that have been identified by our extensive research department.

Once you receive the results of the investigation it should be forwarded to our processing department. Our processing department employee will determine the next course of action based on the results.

DoctorCredit USA uses laws like the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) which protect you from the credit bureaus and creditors. We challenge the negative information on your credit report by launching investigations with the credit bureaus and creditors.

Once the investigation has been sent, they have 30 – 45 days to verify this information as correct and accurate or it must be removed from your credit report.

The timing and how they are initiated are very important in determining whether these investigations are successful. Our Processing department employees are specialists in this area and will make these determinations based on the information in your credit report.

Why do you remove Inquiries, Social Security Variations, Address Variations, and Name Variations first?

Some of the identifiers that are present on a credit report are names, addresses, social security number(s), phone numbers, and past employers. One of the first steps that our processing department may choose to do is to attempt to remove some of these outdated identifiers from your credit report. Addresses and additional social security numbers are usually what we try to remove.

Additional social security numbers are present on a credit report for two reasons. There are trade-lines on the credit report that do not belong to this member (mixed file), or they have co-signed on a credit application with another individual. By removing the additional social security number it will raise the probability that the incorrect associated trade-lines will be removed as well.

The same can be true for addresses. By removing the addresses it may be more difficult for the credit bureau to verify a negative trade-line associated with that address. The other reason we remove some addresses is that the more addresses that appear on a credit report the less stable this person may look to future creditors. This also helps to prevent identity theft.

While removing the addresses will not affect the credit score in any way, making this person look more stable might assist them in future credit decisions by their creditors. Creditors like individuals that are stable people that have homes and mortgages, and we are trying to help facilitate this image.

The most important reason is that our experience has shown us that by removing these addresses and identifiers we will be more effective in removing any questionable negative items that might be associated with those addresses or identifiers in our upcoming investigations.

We also are working to give you a more stable image with your future creditors by removing these items. This will enhance your chances to get credit in the future.

What are the chances of getting particular trade-lines removed?

It is impossible to answer this question in the way it is worded. By law we are not allowed to give odds to our potential members. There is simply too many variables that DoctorCredit USA or our processing department does not control.

We can promise you we will act on all the laws that may be necessary to challenge a negative item.

Our past experience has shown us that there is a good chance that we can challenge most any item; however we legally cannot offer any guarantees for specific trade-line removal.

If you would like to look over some of our results it will give you a better representation of what we have removed in our most recent investigations.

Sometimes you just don’t know until it’s challenged if this information will be deleted from your credit file, the time to act is now.

How much will my credit scores go up after each negative trade-line is removed?

This question is impossible to answer by giving a number. Once again there are too many variables that are unknown to quantify the answer. Besides different scoring models being used by the different credit bureaus, the algorithms used to make these calculations are constantly changing.

Also, when an item gets removed from a credit report the scoring changes are controlled by the other data that is stored in that credit file. Each trade-line that is removed may also affect the scoring model in more ways than one.

Example: A 3 year old questionable collection trade-line with a balance of $2500.00 gets deleted. Not only will the credit score rebound because there is one less collection, the removal of the $2500.00 balance will affect their debt to earning ratio as well.

Each individuals case will be different, and it is almost impossible to give anyone an exact answer. The three credit bureaus each use a different scoring model, so your score at each bureau are never the same.

Through our experience we know that when negative items are removed your score will rebound in a positive way. We have moved some of our past clients from 20 points to over 187 points; again each case will be different.

How many times will the processing department work on a specific trade-line, and what if it gets verified after the first investigation?

If a trade-line gets verified by the creditor and the credit bureau the trade-line will not be removed from the credit report. Our processing department will make the effort to investigate it more than once.  Please note this could extend the estimated time it takes to complete the program.  Good credit is so important these days taking care of the credit repair right the first time will more than pay off in the long run.

If we do our investigations and the information gets verified, we will continue to process that item as many times as you wish. 

There are many instances where we haven’t seen information removed on the first try but it was removed by subsequent rounds of investigations. Our processors will create a credit repair strategy based specifically on your credit file.

Why do you only dispute a few items each month, and what determines how many items get investigated in each processing cycle?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) not only protects individuals, it also has some protections built in for the credit bureaus.

It states that if the credit bureaus feel that any investigation request is considered frivolous they do not have to complete the investigation.

If the credit bureaus get too many investigations at one time they may consider this to be frivolous.

If we try to investigate too many items at once they can claim that we are trying to remove everything from the credit report by doing a blanket investigation. This is exactly the kind of investigation technique the FCRA is protecting them from.

By our processing department spreading out the investigations over several months, it reduces the chance that the credit bureaus will consider them frivolous.

The processing department plans their processing strategy for each credit file on a one on one basis so each member may be processed differently.

However, through extensive research, the maximum items that our processing department recommends to process to get GREAT results, not just good results, in each round of investigations is 6.

If a credit file only has 3 negative items they would not want to investigate them all at one time either. We have found that the fewer items you investigate at one time increases the chance for removal.

In summary: Timing is an essential part of credit repair; when and how we do the investigation will be a determining factor in how successful we are.

If we try to do too many investigations at one time the credit bureaus may refuse to investigate our claims because they feel they are frivolous.

DoctorCredit USA has refined our processing techniques over time; we are up to date on all credit repair laws and trends and will always do what is in the best interest of our members.

What items does our processing department work on first and how do you prioritize your order of investigations?

The processors at our processing department treat each individual’s credit report differently, and their plan of attack is based on everything that is currently in the credit file. They also will take into account how many items they have to remove in the time allotted. Many times the decisions are made based on the level of difficulty the processor feels it will take to get an item removed.

There are very few hard and fast rules in credit repair.

Typically our processing department will work to get some of the identifiers removed in the beginning because it may make removing associated trade-lines easier to remove in the later investigations.

Many times the more difficult items to be removed are done early in the process as to leave time for more than one round of investigations in the time allotted. In the case of a questionable bankruptcy, all items included in the bankruptcy must be removed before the bankruptcy discharge can be removed. Inquires are usually investigated either right in the beginning, or right at the end of the process.

Timing is an essential part of credit repair, when and how we do the investigation will be a determining factor in how successful we are. DoctorCredit USA has refined our processing techniques over time; we are up to date on all credit repair laws and trends, each credit file will be is reviewed on a one on one basis and will always do what is in the best interest of our members. Our processors will prioritize the items in your file for maximum efficiency.

Why am I now getting calls and letters from collection agencies?

As the collection account at a collection agency gets older, and they are not having success collecting it, many times the collector will move on to other accounts that are newer, or that they feel they will net them a better result. This account will eventually fall out of favor with the collector and become dormant.

When we initiate an investigation with the credit bureau they send the CDV (Consumer Verification Request) to the collection agency for verification. The collection agency then must verify the information to the credit bureau or it will be removed from the credit report.

This will sometimes wake up the sleeping giant! The collection agency had to dig the file out to verify it, they now know you must be working on your credit reports because you might have a major purchase coming up, or you’re at least taking a personal interest in its contents. For this reason they feel it might be a good time to restart the collection process again. They feel your financial situation may have improved enough to be able to afford this debt now, or have a vested interest in getting it removed from your credit file. They may be looking to try to collect the whole debt, or settle for a reduced amount. 

It is important to remember that even if our processing department is successful in removing the collection trade-line from the credit report, this person is still the owner of, and is responsible for this debt. The removal of the trade-line from the credit report does not make the debt itself disappear.

Because we are making efforts to remove these items from your credit file, we are forcing the collection agencies to verify and prove these debts should be on your credit report. This is sometimes all they need to try to start collecting these debts with vigor again.

We recommend that when they call you, inform them that you no longer wish to be contacted by telephone; you wish all correspondence between the two parties be done in writing. Get the name of the collector, and agency, as well as the address, and then hang up the phone. Do not under any circumstance admit that this is your debt. Forward this information to DoctorCredit USA and we will send out a “cease and desist” letter on your behalf to this collection agency as part of your membership plan.

Have you removed medical collections?

Yes. Our experience has shown that we are very successful in removing incorrect medical collections. However, just like with other trade-lines we cannot guarantee removal. We have found that the medical collectors do not seem to be as aggressive about collecting these debts as others. Just like other trade-lines, the more outdated they are the easier they will be to remove. There is also a law called Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that restricts some exchanges of medical information. On some credit reports medical information is restricted, this may also be a helpful factor in removing questionable medical collections.
In short, our experience has shown that we are very successful in removing medical collections.

What are the chances of getting public records (bankruptcy, judgments, foreclosure, and liens) removed?

It is impossible to answer this question in the way it is worded. We do not give odds to our potential members. There are simply to many variables that DoctorCredit USA or our processing department does not control. While we do know that some items will tend to be removed more easily than others (medical collections, older trade-lines, inquires), this is because our experiences has shown this to be true.

What if I see more than one social security number on a credit report?

Additional social security numbers are present on a credit report for two reasons. There are trade-lines on the credit report that do not belong to you (mixed file), or you have co-signed on a credit application with another individual.

We will definitely bring this to your attention.  This may cause trade-lines on the credit report that do not belong to you.

What is a validation?

After a regular investigation is completed and the information is verified, the trade-line will remain on the credit report. One of our processing department’s options is called an escalated dispute, or validation. There are two types of validations. The first is done to the credit bureau. We have the right to ask them to report to us how they received the information they used to verify the trade-line in question. The other is sending a validation letter directly to a collection agency.

If the collection agency cannot validate this information in 30 days, we can ask the credit bureaus to remove it from the credit file because the information was not validated.

What does “Updated” mean on the investigation results sheet that we get from the credit bureaus?

It means that our investigation on this trade-line was verified, and it will remain on the credit report. However, during the course of the investigation some type of additional information was verified as well. This new information was also added to the credit report.

In most cases when this happens you will also get a new copy of the credit report or they will show the updated trade-line so you may see that the updated information that was added or changed.

What does “Frivolous Dispute” mean?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) not only protects individuals, it also has some protections built in for the credit bureaus. It states that if the credit bureaus feel that any investigation request is considered frivolous they do not have to complete the investigation. The following are two common examples of a frivolous dispute.

If we try to investigate too many items at once they can claim that we are trying to remove everything from the credit report by doing a blanket investigation. This is exactly the kind of investigation technique the FCRA is protecting them from and it may be considered frivolous.
If you investigate a trade-line and it is verified, yet you keep sending in investigation requests for the same trade-line without any new supporting information, this may be considered frivolous.

How should you handle stall tactics by the 3 bureaus?

Once the credit repair process has begun, it is not uncommon for the credit bureaus to send a letter to you that basically tells you that you do not need to use a credit repair agency to update your credit reports.

This is a stall tactic used by the credit bureaus. They are simply trying to disrupt our efforts in processing credit repair. Many times you will get spooked by this letter because you do not understand it.

You must understand that this is just a stall tactic by the bureaus, and if you make any effort to contact the credit bureau yourself you may reduce the efficiency of our efforts.

By contacting the bureaus you extend the time limits that the credit bureaus legally have to verify our investigations. You have already been informed by us that you have the right to do credit repair yourself.

The reason you hired us is we are the experts and are very successful at what we do. This is why the credit bureaus do not want us working on your behalf.

Can trade-lines still be removed after they have been verified?

Yes! Many times it will take more than one round of investigations to remove questionable derogatory trade-lines. It is also not uncommon for the credit bureaus to verify wrong information through their CDV process (Consumer Dispute Verification).

The credit bureaus take the investigation request we send to them and reduce it to a two digit code that is transmitted electronically to the creditor. The creditor then matches that two digit code to the information in their files to verify the match. This simple process leaves much room for ambiguity and verification of wrong or incomplete information. This process is also done with partial identifiers which also allow a credit report that is a mixed file to be verified.

There have been many instances where we have initiated several rounds of investigations and the first ones were verified, yet the information gets deleted in a later round of investigations. Our processing department also may choose to send in additional information on a future dispute, or ask the credit bureau or creditor to validate the information and how it was obtained. This is called an escalation of dispute.

What is an initial fraud alert, how does it happen, and does it hurt the member?

A fraud alert can be placed by the consumer; typically this is done when your wallet or checkbook is lost or stolen. By calling one credit bureau and requesting a fraud alert they will place it on their report, and then they will notify the other two bureaus. The credit bureaus will then inform you if a credit inquiry is made on your social security number.

It may also be placed on a consumer file by the credit bureau if they feel any type of inquiry might be coming to them from a source other than the actual consumer. It is not uncommon for this to happen when we initiate our credit repair investigations, or even just ordering our members credit reports.

The fraud alert will last for 90 days and does not affect the member’s processing by our processing department. However, the credit bureaus may request additional information or identification from our member before satisfying our processing requests.

Do we just send out dispute letters?

After the members file is set up and is sent to our processing department for processing the first step the processor will do is map out the overall strategy that will be used for this particular member throughout the membership plan purchased by this member.

Once the investigations commence, the disputes may be filed in several different ways. The two most common will be by letter, or by internet. However, the process is not that simple. There may also be situations where they send goodwill letters to the member’s creditors, or request validations from the creditors or credit bureaus.

Our processing department also compiles the results of all the investigations, and determines and prioritizes what the next steps in processing will be as results come in.

Why does processing take so long, why can’t it be done sooner? Are you just spreading it out so you can charge me more?

The main reason credit repair takes so much time is that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FRCA) gives the credit bureaus and creditors a fair amount of time to verify the investigations that consumers initiate.

The FCRA gives them 30 days to verify the information, and a 15 day window for the information to flow between the three parties involved in this process. This is why we tell our members it takes 30 to 45 days to get our investigation results. Also, if the credit bureaus get too many investigations at one time they may consider this to be frivolous. If we try to investigate too many items at once they can claim that we are trying to remove everything from the credit report by doing a blanket investigation.

By our processing department spreading out the investigations over several months, it reduces the chance that the credit bureaus will consider them frivolous.

Our processing department has refined their processing techniques over time; they are up to date on all credit repair laws and trends, each credit file will be reviewed on a one on one basis and our processing department will always do what is in the best interest of the member. The processors will prioritize the items in the file for maximum efficiency.

We do not purposely stretch out the investigation process just to extract additional monies from our membership base.

Can you remove all inquires? What order are they worked on?

No. Inquires are just like other trade-lines on the credit report. If we investigate them and the items are verifiable they can legally remain on the credit report for two years. Also, if the inquiry is associated with an open trade-line on your credit report we cannot attempt to remove it.

Our past experience has shown that we are very successful at removing inquires due to the amount of errors. Generally, we work them first.  However, there may be times we work them first, or even spread them out over the course of the whole credit repair program.