You can learn how to fix bad credit yourself, without paying an attorney or some so called “credit repair specialist” a single dime. And you can do this yourself; you just need to learn how.

As a mortgage specialist in Colorado for the last twelve years, I have worked with people with all types of credit and, in the process, I was able to determine what actually worked and what did not when trying to get credit reports corrected.

Many people simply do not know what to do or where to go to begin the process.

To fix bad credit yourself, you must first get a copy of your credit reports from the three major credit reporting agencies (also known as credit bureaus).

The three credit bureaus are names you have probably heard of; TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian (formerly TRW). These three credit reporting agencies have a lot of mystery surrounding them, and they like to keep it that way. I would like to correct that misconception.

The three credit bureaus are nothing more than glorified record keepers. Also, remember this. Since the three credit bureaus did not lend you any money, they are not as concerned as you are if the information they have is accurate or not. They are merely paid to store and retrieve that information.

And with the amount of information flooding into the three credit bureaus on a daily basis, you can see why there is a 70% chance that the information in your credit report is erroneous.

So your first step to fix bad credit yourself is to get a copy of each bureau’s credit report so you can see what type of records they have on you. There are hundreds of places available on the Internet to get copies of your credit reports, and most of them are useless if you want to fix your bad credit yourself.

Think about it. The credit reporting bureaus do not make a dime when honoring their responsibilities under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

On the contrary; the credit bureaus are required by law to investigate all disputes requested by consumers. This costs them millions of dollars each and every year.

To help cut costs and save money, the credit bureaus do things that you need to know about. Mainly, they sell you what you don’t need, and hope that you give up in frustration.

You get copies of your credit reports off of the Internet. You try your best to start a dispute and you find it impossible to do.

You then spend more money on additional reports, but you still cannot initiate a dispute. You get frustrated, and then you give up.

Congratulations; you have just saved the credit bureaus a ton of money.

Remember, the credit bureaus are private companies and operate as such.

Therefore, you will have to deal with the credit bureau reporting agencies directly. It is not difficult, though it will cost you five to ten minutes on the telephone dialing each bureau’s toll free 800 number.

If you have recently been denied credit, then you have a right to a copy of your credit report for free. Also, you have the right to request a personal copy of your report once a year for free as well.

When on the phone with the three credit bureaus, make sure that you receive a “number” with each report. With TransUnion, it will be a “File Number”; with Equifax, it will be a “Confirmation Number”; and with Experian it will be a “Report Number”. You will need these numbers to begin correcting your credit reports.

If the credit reports you order do not have a “File Number”, a “Confirmation Number”, or a “Report Number”, you will have a very hard time trying to fix bad credit yourself.