Dispute Information On Credit Report

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Your credit report is used to determine your credit score, the number by which lenders and creditors make the final decision as to whether or not take a risk on you. Your current and past addresses, maiden or other names, how much total debt you have, how timely your payments are and arrest records or bankruptcy filing all get reported and factor into your viability as a good credit risk.

It’s important to make sure your credit report is accurate, and experts say you should take advantage of the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s mandate that you be allowed one free report from each of the major credit reporting agencies per year (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax). It’s important that you get all three, because different companies may report to different credit reporting agencies, and they do not share information with each other. Use the FCRA’s free website to get your reports: AnnualCreditReport.com.

If you do find erroneous or outdated information on your credit report, there are several steps you can take to make sure the record gets set straight, ...
... and your credit rating improves. Look for outdated charges, charges that were never shown as paid (and were), or even transactions that you simply did not make or authorize. Besides the threat of identity theft, wrong information is going to affect your bottom line and it’s up to only you to fix it. Once the creditors and reporting agencies are notified of errors or inaccuracies, they are responsible for correcting the information on your report.

You’ll need to contact the credit reporting agency in writing and tell them what you think is inaccurate. You’ll need to attach copies of documents (not originals) supporting your positions. Include your name and address (at the time of the charges, as well as current), your account number and any other identifying information you can think of. Your letter should clearly demonstrate which charges you find to be wrong, and explain why. Credit Elves supply free sample letters, and can even take the hassle of creating letters off your hands.

Send the letters via certified mail, return receipt requested, so you know when the credit agency got the letter. Keep copies of everything you do. You can expect some sort of response within about 30 days. They’ll forward every bit of information you provided to the relevant creditor, and work with them to investigate and resolve the issues. If the information is indeed found to be inaccurate, the creditor must notify each of the three credit reporting agencies that the dispute has been finalized, and they have to clean up your record. You’ll get a copy of the results in the mail, along with another free copy of your credit report with the changes noted. You may also request that the new credit report be forwarded to anyone who received your report in the last six months. For employment purposes, you can have a new copy sent to anyone who saw your old report related to your employment.

Do some diligent research on CreditElves.com for more tips on how to dispute information on a credit report.