Tips for Writing a Letter to a Credit Bureau

All too often it happens to the best of us: You miss a credit card payment. You forget to drop your car loan payment in the mailbox as you hurry off to work. You order up a copy of your credit report, and you are angry to find negative items listed in it that are not correct. You get a threatening letter from a bill collector and you discover that a "zombie debt" you thought had long ago vanished has arisen from the dead.

You've tried your best to keep your credit crystal clean, but now you've got your work cut out for you.
Now, you're going to have to write a letter to fix your credit.

It's not that it's hard to do. Writing a credit dispute letter is no different that any other sort of letter, even one that you would write to a business colleague. But there are certain steps to keep in mind. We'll provide you with a list of seven tips to be aware of when drafting your credit dispute letter to help save you time, and we'll throw in a free sample credit repair letter for good measure to provide a template for contacting credit bureaus.

Before we start, thought, it's important to note two things:

(1) Credit Reporting Agencies (CRA's) would prefer that you contact them through their website, and
(2) Letters that appear to be "frivolous" might not get you the results you are aiming at.
We will discuss both, then move on to a list of free tips you can use to craft effective credit letters.

1. CRA websites -- no personal touch, no way to document that you mailed the letter via USPS. You get instant access, but there's no paper trail.

2. Frivolous letters -- Departments which cull through letters of dispute are keen to label letters as not worthy of attention. They are within the legal rights set forth in current credit law to deem your letter frivolous for a variety of reasons.

To avoid these two obstacles, we'll offer up our free list of credit letter writing tips to help you document your dispute, and get valid attention.

Tips to Writing Better Credit Letters

1. Order up and review your credit reports.
AnnualCreditReport.com is your free source to review your credit reports each year. You can also call them at toll-free 1-877-322-8228. Study your credit reports compiled by Transunion, Experian and Equifax. Be alert for glaring errors of fact, mistakes in names, outdated information. Keep a legal pad near at hand to jot down problem areas so you won't forget them.

2. Know the addresses of the credit bureaus.
Writing a credit dispute letter is useless unless you know where to send it! Here are the addresses for the three major credit bureaus:

TransUnion
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834

Experian
P.O. Box 9530
Allen, TX 70513

Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374

3. Have your records handy.
Keep financial records close by as you write. You'll need account numbers, dates, merchant names, etc. Jot down reminders on your legal pad.

4. Type or neatly hand print your letter.
Write as if you are writing a friend, but don't be casual. Watch your language -- no threats or swearing! Typing or block printing also makes your letter more legible. Remember: if they can't read it, they can't fix your credit!

5. Understand how mistake removal process works.
Learn how errors creep into credit reports, and know your rights. Tackle only one problem at a time. Identify the most egregious error, and dispute that. Get full details here on how to improve your credit.

6. Be on watch for identity theft.
Sometimes reviewing your credit report or credit card statements, you will find details that just don't mesh that may not impact your credit score, but you might have stumbled onto the attempt of somebody trying to steal your identity by requesting an address change from your home to an unknown post office box. Best way to fight identity theft when you find it is to

7. Seek out legal help when all else fails.
If your problems seem hopeless, don't despair. You may need to turn to the National Association of Consumer Advocates to locate legal representation to deal with credit bureaus if you truly have cause to feel you've been unfairly treated. Oftentimes, though, you can get assistance directly from non-profit credit counselors. Check your telephone book yellow pages in your hometown for the local phone number to the nearest office.

The following sample credit repair letter template is a good start. Please avoid copying this letter format word for word; CRA's are expert on detecting sample credit templates. Instead, feel free to use this sample letter as a guide to sculpting your own documents. Make them business like and professional, but make them your own.

Teacher Cover Letter Sample - A Perfect Guide

The school authorities get hundreds applications each day after publishing the job ad and one can find a stiff competition because of less vacancies. Internet provides many Teacher cover letter samples which look attractive but most of them are out dated and used thousand times. If the applicant uses one of these formats in writing this sort of letter, it may get discarded at the first sight because the authorities become used to these formats. One should stick to his own language and vocabulary rather than those widely available samples. The below mentioned letter sample may be a useful tool in writing the teacher cover letter for aspiring teachers.

Start with a heading "Application for the post of ________________________Teacher". After that, put your Name, address and a proper contact number with the date. After putting a gap, write details of the addressee. Each particular has to be justified left and written in single line. Put another gap before the salutation.

Main content of such letter needs to be written in short form in different paragraphs. Start the 1st Paragraph with the applicant's introduction with the reasons for writing the letter.

Second paragraph may contain your strong areas, your achievements, and the area which you specialize in and details of your last studies. Your present job details, if you have, should be mentioned in the letter as well. The 2nd paragraph should contain the reason behind your selection for the position.

Last paragraph of your Teacher Cover Letter sample also has an important characteristic where you can ask the person for appointment or you can invite the official of the school for a formal discussion on phone about your prospects and the tentative date for Interview. This paragraph should end with Thanks to you note.

Last part of your letter contains your name on right hand side bottom along with a space for your signature, which should be in black colored ink. The details of enclosures, which contain your CV and other documents supporting your achievements, should be written in the bottom of the letter.