Credit repair companies advertise regularly that they can help repair your credit. They are happy to take your money before proceeding to write you a simple letter to that you could easily write on your own.

The usual advertising spiel from these credit repair companies is that only they know how to begin an investigation into the bad listings on your credit report.

What these companies are looking for are any listings from creditors who might have reported wrong information or they might have mixed up your report with someone else’s with a similar name. They might even be looking for a listing from a creditor who forgot to report an already repaid debt.

Why would you pay high fees to a credit repair company when you can write a credit repair letter on your own and achieve the same result?

The issues listed above are all easy to investigate and easy to verify that they’re incorrect. By writing a simple letter to the Credit Reporting Bureaus on your own you can dispute these listings and have them removed. Once they’re removed, you’ll see your credit score improve.

Before you begin you should order an accurate copy of your credit report. This is so you’ll know exactly what is listed and who listed it. Make a mark beside anything listed on your report that doesn’t belong to you or should show as repaid.

If you see any enquiries noted on your report that are actual debts you did apply for and did take out, then these can’t be removed even if they have negative listings for them.

Remember - You can’t remove accurate information legally.

Just because you can’t remove genuine negative listings doesn’t mean you can’t ask the credit reporting bureaus to conduct an investigation into every item listed though.

There is no fee for writing and submitting a credit repair letter. This means you can write a letter and request an investigation into every listing - even the real ones.

The credit reporting bureaus are then forced to resond to your enquiry within 30 days. If they find a listing that they can’t verify then they should remove it for you, which is great news for your credit score.

Here are some tips on writing your credit repair letter:

1. Before you write your credit repair letter, do a quick search on the internet and look for a ready-made template. Be sure to change the wording on the template to include your own information and your own listing details.

2. When you’re done writing, make three copies and send each of the three major credit reporting bureaus a copy. You’ll find the contact information listed clearly on each of their websites.

3. Send your credit repair letters out to the credit reporting bureaus by registered mail or by certified mail. Always keep a record of the date you posted your letters.

4. Keep all copies of correspondence for future reference.

5. Be patient. It takes time to conduct investigations into your credit report. They will respond, but it does take time.

Writing a credit repair letter might seem like a lot of work for very little reward, but if you can succeed in removing even one negative listing from your credit report then you’ve achieved your goal.