In so many words, yes it is worth the effort to fix credit report errors. Your credit reports and the scores are vital for getting decent loans and may also play role if you are trying to rent property or looking for employment. In fact some jobs and job clearances – especially security clearances – can be denied based on having bad credit scores. Today, and especially in the United States, your credit score is very important and fixing credit report errors is well worth the trouble. The good news is that fixing bad credit really isn’t all that difficult!
Each of the Big Three credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – maintain their own individual databases and they also receive their credit reporting data from different sources. This means that there is a lot of room for error. It also means that just because one of your credit reports is fine, this may not be true for the other two. Therefore it is important to not just fix credit report errors on one report, but on all of them.
By law you are entitled to one free copy of each of your Big Three generated credit reports each year. You may also receive a free copy if you are turned for something, like a loan, based on your credit score. Because your free credit report is mandated by law, the Big Three have created a website – annualcreditreport.com – where you can receive all three of your separate credit reports at the same time. You can also call each of the companies directly and request that copies be mailed to you.
One you receive your credit reports, you want to methodically go over them line by line. You will want to fix bad credit report errors as soon as possible. There are several things that you should be looking for as you go over each item reported. First, look for line items that are not yours. It is common that reported items will accidently be added to the wrong person’s report, so there may be items listed that are not yours at all. Second, look for items that should have been removed already. Besides bankruptcies and some other items, most negative entries should be removed from your credit report after seven years, but often they are left on the report until someone mentions it. Finally, you want to make sure that the items accurately reflect the amounts owed and that the current status is correct. Having paid items listed as unpaid or having an extra zero or misplaced decimal point can result in significant problems.
Unless you monitor your credit report very closely, chances are you will find a number of errors on each of your Big Three credit reports. Once you have identified them you should contest them with the credit bureaus. By law each of the Big Three bureaus are required to investigate any claim that you make. Although you can make these claims online through the company’s website, if you have supporting documentation – something that really helps your case – you may want to consider filing your contest in paper through the mail, including copies of your supporting documents. Make sure you send everything via certified mail!
These investigations can take 30 days to complete, but assuming your contest is valid, the offending items will be removed from your credit report, improving your overall credit score. Whether you intend to be applying for a loan in the future or not, it is well worth the trouble to fix credit report errors and to do so frequently.
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