Check that your personal information is correct. This includes your name, social security number, date of birth, address and telephone number. If you are married, make sure your spouse's information is correct too. If you are divorced, the report should indicate this.
Check that your employer and job title is listed. If you've only been on your job a short time, your previous employer should be listed as well. If you've only lived at your current address a short time, your previous address should be listed too.
Check that the accounts listed are yours, and that the payment history and account balances are correct. Credit card accounts will show your credit limit, the amount you owe now, and if you have paid on time.
The names of companies that have requested your report in the last six months will also be listed. Your credit report also lists lawsuits, liens and bankruptcies.
How Do I Correct Errors?
Send a certified letter to the credit reporting agency and a copy to the business that reported the wrong information. Include in your letter:
The name of the business that reported the incorrect information;
Why the information is wrong;
Copies of receipts, cancelled checks, or other documents that prove the information is wrong.
If there is incorrect information in your report, both the credit reporting agency and the businesses that reported it are responsible for correcting it.
What The Credit Reporting Agency Must Do
When the credit reporting agency receives your dispute they must:
Within 5 days, notify the business that provided the information that you have filed a dispute.
Complete their investigation within 30 days of receiving your letter.
If They Agree With You
If the credit reporting agency agrees that the information in your report is wrong, they will send you a corrected report within 30 days.
If They Disagree With You
If they conclude that the information in your credit report is correct, they must tell you why within 5 days of finishing their investigation.
If you disagree with their explanation, you can write your side of the story in a 100-word statement. This statement becomes part of your credit report.
Credit Report And Free
You might have heard about the Scammers out there that promise to fix your score and can end up actually damaging it further - they will guarantee to improve your score but be warned this is the fastest way to through away your hard earned cash - they will take a fee - normally $500 - $1000 and the go about illegally trying to fix your score - they do this by contacting the Credit Report Bureaus and asking them to investigate a few of your bad credit marks on your report. A credit bureau by law has to take this piece of negative information off your report while they investigate the claim. As soon as the investigation is complete and it has been found untrue it will then land back on your report. This request for an investigation will also stay on your report which wont help your future loan application.
There are legitimate companies to help your credit score alone. It is possible to find companies that can fix your score in not months or weeks - not even days but in matter of hours. Sounds like a scam! yeah that's what I though too but it actually turns out to be legitimate - let me explain.
These companies will used what's called a repaid re-scoring service, they are a growing part of the credit industry and most commonly offered to independent credit reporting agencies as a way to improve the terms for their client borrowers.
By removing these errors will help boost your credit score - this is normally down when applying for the loan. It could resulting a better interest rate, or/and better terms and conditions - well worth a look.
You need to access these services the right way - you cannot go directly to these companies. they only work with mortgage lenders and brokers - not direct with consumers. be warned if you are offered instant credit score improvement directly then it's a scam - run for the hills!
These services will not remove negative entries and items that are in dispute, they work buy removing errors. To be prepared you need to get together a letter from the creditor admitting that there has been a mistake made in a late payment.
Ask you broker about these services - sometimes it can take two weeks but it sure is still a faster process than the old snail mail.
Both Lar & John Mcfadden are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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