The process used to clean up credit report errors is fairly simple and direct and can be done by yourself as opposed to hiring a company to do it for you. However, if you do not have the time or inclination to do it yourself, you should still have errors removed as soon as possible because each one significantly impacts your credit score. Since your credit scores are not only used by lenders that you approach, but can also be used by employers and leasers, keeping your credit score as high as possible at all times is well worth the effort. Additionally, it is important to clean up your credit report on a regular basis.
Each of the Big Three credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – maintain their own databases and receive their reported information from different sources, this means that there is a lot of room for error. In fact, errors are quite common and people that do not routinely check their credit reports for them are often amazed at exactly how many mistakes are on their credit reports once thy do look into the matter. Sometimes these errors are just items that should not be on your credit report at all, items that actually belong to someone else but were mistakenly added to your record. Other errors deal with old items that should have been removed from your credit report or items that include mistaken details like whether or not it has been paid off or the amounts involved.
The first step to cleaning up credit report errors is to get copies of your credit report from each of the Big Three bureaus. All American citizens and residents are entitled to one free copy of each of these reports annually and you can also get a free copy by applying for a loan that you know you will not get. Any loan that is denied based on your credit score or credit report entitles the person that was declined to a free copy of the report that was used to decline the loan. However, keep in mind that every loan you apply for that is declined lowers your credit score a little bit by itself.
Once you have your credit reports, the next step to clean up bad credit report errors is to do a careful line by line review of each item reported. Look for items that should not be there (like those reported by companies you have never dealt with), for items that should be removed because they have been on the report for more than seven years, and for items with incorrect details. This last one can be tricky, but problems often relate to reports that the debt has not been resolved when it has been or to the actual amounts of debt reported. Once you have found all the errors on all three reports, carefully document why these errors are mistaken. The more documentary evidence you supply to substantiate your claim, the more likely it is that the item will be removed from your credit report.
After this you can file a contest with the relevant credit bureau. This can be done online, but if you are including copies of paper documents to substantiate your claim, it might be easier to simply mail in your claim. By law the credit bureau is obligated to investigate any claim made, so they will look into the matter based on the case you have made. If they agree with your assessment that the item is erroneous, they will remove it. This process can take time, so it is important to get started long before applying for a major loan.
For more information on how to clean up credit report errors, please check out my free CD!
Related posts:
- Ways to Clean Credit Records of Old Items The FICO system of creating credit ratings means that every...
- Is It Worth The Time To Fix My Credit Report? In so many words, yes it is worth the effort...
- How to Clean Up Your Credit Report The big question we often get asked is, “How do...
- What is The Best Way To Fix Credit Problems? Ultimately this question somewhat depends on the nature of your...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
You must log in to post a comment.
{ 1 trackback }