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How to Eliminate Errors from Your Credit Report

Credit bureaus which are also referred as credit reporting agencies have to provide accurate credit report to customers. But, what an individual should do when he spots some serious errors in his credit report? The best solution is to take some immediate steps to correct those errors. On the virtue of Fair Credit Reporting act, eliminating errors from your credit report has become extremely easy and quick. If you want to clean up your credit report then here are some important steps which you have to follow in order to successful in your endeavor.

Order Your Credit Reports

To figure out what is exactly wrong with your credit report, order your credit reports from some major credit reporting agencies. Some details on each of the report may vary because creditors don’t report your credit status to every credit bureau. Avoid ordering credit report from any third party agency. According to law, every individual is entitled to receive at least one copy of his credit report without paying any fees.

Contact your Creditor

The first important thing is to get in touch with your creditor and explain him errors in your credit report before filing dispute to any credit bureau. Because by the time your dispute request will be processed by credit reporting agency, your creditor might have corrected all the errors in the report. In most of the cases, eliminating inaccuracies is extremely simple. But, if the initial investigation results in no change then you can opt for dispute filing process.

Pay Proper Attention to Details

You should not only give attention to some major discrepancies like court judgments or inaccurate purchases but you have to also watch out for some minute mistakes such as misspelled names, incorrect address and bank details. Bankruptcies can remain on an individual’s credit report for 10 years, while some other types of entries may remain for 7 years.

Dispute Discrepancies

You can opt for an option of filing dispute online but it may not allow you to state all the claims in one go. So writing a formal letter to credit bureau is an effective option. When you write a letter, make it very simple and easy to understand. If there are many errors in your report then try to write letter for every minute error and mail it separately. You can also consider writing separate letters to each of the credit reporting agencies.

Know What Should Be Removed

If your credit report possesses incorrect information like judgment of lawsuit which you were never participated in and any account you have never opened then you can request it to remove permanently from the records. Sometimes, your credit report may possess multiple entries, so you can also remove unnecessary entries by filing dispute to respective credit bureaus. This will allow lenders in believing that you have less credit or debt problems in your life.  Your credit report may reflect incorrect information on foreclosures, liens, judgments, lawsuits, late payments and bankruptcy which you have to eliminate on time.

If Changes Aren’t Made

In case, the credit bureau claims that the information mentioned in the report is correct then it must give you written notice which includes name, phone number and address of individual who has made the report. If any information in your credit report is unpleasant but correct then unfortunately you can’t remove it.  However, if you disagree then you can initiate one more investigation. In case, your first attempt to correct discrepancies is unsuccessful then you can ask credit bureau to provide you a detail explanation.

Submit Necessary Evidence

This is most vital part of your credit report dispute filing process. As providing detail information and adding proper documentation can impact the final result of your claim in significant way. Through this way, you can persuade the credit reporting agency to investigate your matter in detail.

Track the Overall Progress

As soon as you contact the credit reporting agency, they have to investigate the matter within one month. The credit bureaus will pass on all the information to entity which has forwarded details to them. The information provider has to investigate matter properly and submit entire research back to reporting agency. During investigation, if it is observed that you were right then you can avail correct credit report in quick time. Make sure to maintain all the details of your communication with the credit bureau. Keep the record of all the people you have interacted with in customer service department with details on time and dates when matter was discussed.

Legal Help

If you believe that discrepancies are valid and they are not verified through credit reporting agencies properly then you can opt for legal help. There are many lawyers available who possess thorough knowledge on Fair Credit Reporting Act and strong experience in dealing with cases related with credit report errors. 

Conclusion

Most of the individuals find themselves in a situation of challenging a credit report without any valid reasons. The key is to be persistent and organized but honest. Credit bureaus are extremely cooperative and if you file a genuine complaint then they are always ready to serve you on priority basis. After successfully correcting of all the errors and discrepancies in your credit report, you can think of implementing some vital steps to improve your credit score. Because, correcting mistakes in credit report is not well enough to convince your lender about your credit status and what you will require is a solid foundation to make your credit report strong.





2 responses to “How to Eliminate Errors from Your Credit Report”

  1. Mike Collins says:

    It really is important to check your credit report for errors. A few years ago I started getting mailings for AARP (I was in my twenties at the time) and I couldn’t figure out why until I got a copy of my credit report and realized someone had my birth date incorrect and I was showing up as being in my seventies! Easy error to fix but just goes to show why we need to be watching,

    • Martin says:

      I agree. I had my address wrong. A mortgage company filed it wrong initially and I still wasn’t able to fix it. So now I have three addresses in there. The first one is the very old one I used to live on, the second is the wrong one and the third is my current. Hope this will not cause issues in the future.

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