First you want to get proof of the error.  This can include items such as your canceled checks, previous billing statements, any relevant court judgment papers, and a letter from your creditor acknowledging the status of the account in question.  Start contacting the credit bureau that listed the error and keep a log of all the calls you make, emails you send, names of people you talk to, etc.  Make sure that when you send anyone your documentation that you send photocopies and keep the originals for yourself—you may not get them back, or they may get lost in the mail, and then you’re out of luck.

Inform the creditor of the mistake.  If they reported something incorrectly (for example, that the account is still open but you have proof that you paid it off), they must correct the error and contact the bureau to have it updated or removed.  In fact, once you report an error to the credit bureau, they are required to contact your creditor.  The creditor has 30 days to send proof that the account is open and valid and belongs to you.  If they don’t, the error must be removed from your report, and you will receive another free copy of it.

If your inquiry turns into a larger dispute, you can take legal action.  You’ll be spending more time and money to get the error removed, but if it’s hurting your score and you know it should not be on your report, it’s well worth it.

At the end of all these steps, if the error cannot be removed, you are entitled to add a small explanation to it on your report.  For example, if you missed payments to your credit card because you lost your job or had medical problems, this can be listed alongside the account.  The creditor is also required to include your explanation every time they report to the bureaus.  This will not improve your score, but the next time you apply for credit, the lender may be more inclined to approve you if they understand the circumstances behind your negative history.

When you find accounts that you recognize, make sure little facts like your credit limit and the date the account was opened are correct.  If those have been altered without your knowledge, it could be a sign of fraud.  Make sure that the account is only listed once on the same report, as a double listing will simply appear to be a separate account when creditors check your history, and this could hurt your score.

Have you updated your personal information?  If you have a new address or new name and haven’t reported it, your credit history will be incomplete.  New accounts that might boost your score may not be listed, and when a creditor checks your history, you might not be linked correctly with older accounts.  Perhaps you share a name with someone in your family, or your name is fairly common.  Make sure only your information is on your report and hasn’t been mixed with your name twin.  If you are a Jr. or a Sr., make sure this is listed correctly.

Professional opinions seem to differ regarding closed accounts that are still listed on your report.  Some say to remove them because they are hurting your score, but others say this listing can actually help your score.  Consider your own individual information.  If your history is positive and your score is high with a closed account listed on your report, you may want to consider leaving it alone.

Of course, if you find larger errors such as an account or two that you know you didn’t open, a report of nonpayment on a loan that you paid off, etc., this indicates fraudulent activity and you need to take action right away.  The longer you wait, the more fraudulent activity you are subject to.  This goes for all errors, large or small.  Removing errors can increase your score 20-30 points right away, and that might be enough to bump you into the next highest category and help you begin qualifying for better interest rates and credit limits.

The majority of activity, positive or negative, remains on your report for no more than 7 years.  Generally the activity will disappear once the account has been closed or paid off.  Your credit cards and mortgage will tend to be on your report even longer, though, since they tend to remain open longer.

As far as negative information goes, there are certain black marks that will stay on your report for a set period of time.  For example, if you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, that will remain for 10 years, even if you have resolved the other activity on your report that caused you to file bankruptcy in the first place.  If you go into foreclosure, that will remain for 7 years.  A lawsuit or judgment filed against you will remain for 7 years, or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever one turns out to be longer.  If you have unpaid tax liens or you defaulted on your student loan, these can remain on your report indefinitely.

You should not have to contact any credit bureaus or file any requests to have this information removed.  All of your activity is coded to disappear automatically once time runs out.  It’s still not a bad idea to keep an eye on your history, though, and make sure that your information is correct and current.  If you do start to develop a negative history, do your best to start turning it around as soon as possible.  Even with black marks on your record, evidence of improvement will help to put you back in good standing.

Besides these unintentional errors, there are companies and collection agencies that will place negative items on your report that don’t belong there. Think of how many times you made a  payment on time and your credit card company said they never received it. Because of their poor accounting management, you suffer when they report that misinformation to the reporting agencies.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a law that is in the consumer’s favor, and allows you to dispute any item on your report. Each time you file a dispute, the bureau must, by law, investigate the dispute and respond within 30 days. If they are unable to fine enough evidence to support the item on your credit report, it must be removed, which in many cases will instantly improve your credit score.

In order to perform an effective credit bureau dispute, you must first have the most current copy of your credit reports from all three reporting agencies (Trans Union, Experian, and EquiFax). This information can change overnight, so what was on your file a month ago may be different that what you see today. Once you have your report, indicate all of the items that you would like to dispute. Word of caution: Don’t dispute everything at once. Focus on no more than 5 items to start with that have the most significant impact on your credit rating. You’ll get a much better response that way.

Once you have indicated the items in dispute on your credit report, write your dispute letter, clearly indicating the item you are disputing and why. Enclose a copy of your report that highlights these items as well. Mail the letter to the reporting agency’s dispute department via certified mail, return receipt requested. This step is important because it will provide proof of the date when the reporting agency receives your letter.

Wait 30 days for a response. If you do not hear back, send a follow up letter explaining that the dispute was sent on X date, that you have not heard back in 30+ days, and by law the item must be removed from your credit report. Many times by disputing items that are in fact legitimate claims on your report, you can get them removed. It’s worth a shot anyway.

Get Your Most Current Credit Report

The credit reporting agencies have to job of collecting information from your lenders and creditors, and listing that information in a clear and concise manner. These documents list that accounts you paid online and the times you were late. It will list any accounts that are in collections, and any repossessions, foreclosures and bankruptcies. The credit scoring agencies then take this information and assign a score, which represents how well you manage your debts.

Because there are millions of people with billions of transactions a day that these credit reporting agencies must manage, they don’t always report the most accurate information. That is why it is not only important to regularly review one of your credit reports, but all 3 of your files. Just because one report is clean doesn’t mean that the other 3 have the same exact information.

How to Read Credit Report

These important documents are basically broken down into three sections:

• Your Personal Information: This section lists your name, address, and most importantly check to make sure your Social Security Number is properly identified. This section may also list your employer, previous employers, previous addresses, your driver’s license number, and your spouse’s name. While these secondary items may not directly affect your credit score, it is a good idea to check for accuracy.
• Your Credit History: This section will list all of your accounts that you currently have open or opened in the past. Here you will see the account number and lender’s name, they type of loan, the average amount owed, the status of the account, and your payment history.
• Public Records: This lists any financially related information about you that is available to the public, such as:  judgments, foreclosures, bankruptcies, and tax liens. Anything listed in this section is considered bad.
• Inquiries on Your Account: This section lists all the creditors and lenders that have pulled your credit. You will see soft inquiries, which are instances where creditors were able to see partial information about your credit history. Permission is not needed for this, and it does not affect your credit score in any way. Hard inquiries list the instances where you gave authority for companies to pull your credit to review it for a loan, lease or credit. Multiple hard inquiries on your account can affect your credit score.

View Your Credit Report and Score Here

First step is to get copies of your current credit report. You will want to download all three, since they will vary — maybe just slightly, but there could be some major differences. Realize that although the credit reporting companies try to maintain accurate records, it is not at all uncommon to have misinformation on your report. In other words, you could have negative marks that don’t belong there and are hurting your score.

This can prevent you from getting a job, increase your insurance rates, and prevent you from getting the loan that you need.

The Secret to Bad Credit Report Repair

Once you have your credit report and have reviewed it thoroughly, you’ll want to start the dispute process. By law you can question anything on your credit report, and the agencies must investigate it. If they are unable to find enough evidence to support the claim that was made on your report, it must be removed from your file.

This is an important concept that holds the key to getting all the negative information on your credit report wiped clean. If you do not hear back from the agencies within 30 days, the item(s) you dispute must be deleted from your file.

There are many reasons that these companies are unable to find and respond to your dispute within 30 days:

• Your account was sold multiple times to different lenders and these records were lost, and therefore they do not have enough evidence to prove their claim
• It costs time and money for creditors and lenders to investigate these claims and in many cases it is jut not worth it. If you are not a customer it may not be worth the hassle
• There are certain times of the year that the agencies and creditors are just too busy to investigate your claim
• The employee that receives your dispute loses the paperwork or just doesn’t care enough about his/her job to go through the trouble

This is just some of the reasons why it is incredibly easy to dispute and have anything removed from your credit file that you like. It may take a couple tries on some of the bigger items, but they can come off. When they do, you can consider yourself successful at achieving bad credit report repair.

See Your Credit Score Reports Now

Your creditors, lenders and people you have done business with in the past may or may not have reported that information to the three credit reporting agencies. In some cases they may have only sent that information to one or two of the bureaus, but not all three.

There is nothing in the consumer credit report law that states that a company must provide the same information to all three agencies. They only have to report accurate information.

If you have not reviewed your credit report and score in over 6 months, it is recommended by financial experts to request all 3 when you order your yearly credit report. There really is no reason not to either.

Once you have your reports, review them closely for errors. It it not uncommon that the wrong information is placed on the wrong report. Imagine being surprised by the fact that you have horrible credit because of a bankruptcy listing on your file. These things happen, but the good news is that it is not very difficult to have those items removed. But until you do, your credit score will remain the same and lenders will probably not accept and explanation.

When you download your yearly credit report, also check for any accounts you have that are in good standing that may not be listed on your file. These things help your score, and you want to be sure all of your good standing accounts are listed. If they are not, call those creditors right away and ask them to submit your information and credit history to all 3 bureau. In most cases they will be happy to do so.

Download Your Credit Report and Score

The first step is to closely review your credit report. This file contains important personal and financial information that you want to be sure is accurate, but that is not always the case. The three credit reporting agencies are faced with the task of managing millions of transactions for millions of people on a daily bases. Every once in a while the wrong information is placed on your credit report.

By law, you are entitled to an accurate credit report, thought that is not always the case. However, it is your responsibility to review this information and dispute where necessary. Just by doing this, you can improve your chances of getting a loan at the best possible rate. Beyond that, a clean credit report can help you get better rates on your insurance and even help you get a job.

But don’t stop there. By law,  you can dispute any item on your credit report and the agencies must investigate the dispute. If they do not come up with enough evidence to support the claim within 30 days, it must be removed from your file. That means it is entirely possible to have any negative items on your report removed — regardless if it belongs there or not.

Many times the agencies can’t find enough evidence, while other times it is just not worth the money and resources it costs companies to research the claim. There is nothing on your credit report that can’t be removed by properly disputing the items.

Once you’ve identified the items you would like to dispute, simply send a dispute letter to the credit reporting agencies that list that item. Be sure to use certified, return receipt mail so you have proof that the dispute was filed and received.

Give them 30 days to respond. If you do not hear back, follow up in writing and demand that the item is removed from your file.

When you dispute credit report items, do not try to dispute all of them at once. Start with the bigger picture items that can make the greatest improvement in your score. Otherwise the reporting agencies will not work for you in your favor.

Before you can take any serious action, you must have recent copies of your credit reports. This is a mandatory step, as you want to clearly document and include copies of  your report with your dispute.

Instantly Download Your Credit Reports