Cleaning Up Credit Issues
Here is some information for you about how to dispute inaccurate items on your credit report. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act you have the right to dispute the completeness and accuracy of the information in your credit file. When a credit-reporting agency receives a dispute, it must reinvestigate and record the current status of the disputed items within a “reasonable period of time,” unless it believes the dispute is “frivolous or irrelevant.” If the credit-reporting agency cannot verify a disputed item or if the item is verified and found to be inaccurate, they must delete it from your credit report.
Here are the steps in the process:
- Request a copy of the credit report that was used to determine your ability to have credit, the contact information for the 3 credit bureaus can be found at the bottom of this page.
- Review your credit report once received, note any duplicate information and incorrect information or incomplete reporting on current status of accounts or closed accounts, compile a complete list of these accounts.
- Using the dispute form provided with your credit report, address each account individually and specifically. It is up to the credit-reporting agency to verify the information they are reporting as accurate it is not your responsibility to do this. You can also dispute these items online using each of the 3 credit bureaus’ web sites.
- When addressing credit issues use the word and or phrase “dispute the accuracy of the information.” Don’t be specific it is they’re responsibility to verify it. If they cannot, then they must delete it from your credit report.
Remember credit bureaus can report most negative credit information for no more than seven years. The seven-year period runs from the date of the last regularly scheduled payment that was made before the account became delinquent unless the creditor later took action on the account. Such as charging it off or obtaining a judgment for the amount due. If a creditor took such action, the seven years would run from the date of that event. There are exceptions to the seven-year rule. For example, Bankruptcies may be reported for ten years.
As you can see this is not a simple process. The main thing that you need to realize is that if your credit is reported incorrectly that it could affect your ability to borrow for up to 10 years. Making it a priority to have an accurate personal credit report can have long-term financial rewards for you. A mortgage advisor can answer any questions you have about cleaning up your credit.
Here are the 3 credit bureaus:
EFX EQUIFAX - CSC CREDIT SERVICE (888) 786-8765
P.O. Box 981221
El Paso, TX 79998-1221
www.csccredit.com
XPN EXPERIAN INFORMATION SVCS (888) 397-3742
P.O. BOX 2002
ALLEN, TX 75013-3742
www.experian.com
TUC TRANS UNION INFORMATION SVCS (800) 916-8800
P.O. BOX 1000
CHESTER, PA 19022
www.transunion.com
