Basic Steps In Disputing Your Credit Report

One of the reasons that you should order your free credit report is because of the fact that 8 out of 9 individuals have errors in their credit report. The errors are the responsibility of the credit reporting agency. Is it any wonder that the most basic task of the credit reporting agencies is to make sure that the data they are reporting is accurate? And, if the reported information is inaccurate, your credit score will be falsely lowered.

One solution to your problem is to dispute the information. To do so, one of the most important tools used is a letter written by you disputing what is wrong with the credit report. It is important if you have inaccurate information on your credit report that you know how to write a letter that will remedy the problem. This article will cover the steps on reviewing and disputing information found on your credit reports. Your free credit report will not provide you the information necessary to dispute the errors. You must write the dispute letters yourself, but will be well-advised to research as much as possible and learn everything that you can about credit reporting.

Organization

The first item to look for is your credit report's organization. Many people do not know that the credit report is supplied by a third party, not the credit reporting agency. So, it is important that you examine your credit reports from each of the major credit reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Dispute remedies

After you have compared each of your credit reports, you should look for errors from each credit report. It is not uncommon for creditors to compile information from all three credit reports even though your credit information from those reports may not be identical. Just because your mortgage company has reported you as late on your mortgage loan, it does not mean that you can accurately say that you were late on your car loan or your student loan. Look for errors that could mean one report contains different information than the others although they valid credit information from your credit reports. On your credit report, check for any errors that you can dispute. The FTC advises finding as many errors that you can on a dispute form provided by the FTC. You may need to send the credit company a form to dispute the information on your credit report. The reporting agencies gather the information they are reporting and mail it out. If you have evidence that will support your claim that the credit report contains an error, include copies of documents that will prove your point. This may include material from your utility bill, a bank statement or any other credit account that would show your payment history, your signature in court or any other document that would prove that the data is accurate. After sending your dispute, the reporting agency will investigate and determine whether your dispute is frivolous. Once the information is correct, the information will remain on your credit report. However, if your report remains inaccurate because the creditor cannot or will not provide the data, this may remain on your credit report permanently. Any changes to your credit report will occur automatically or within a few months of its presentation. If you need a credit score for an application for a major purchase, a loan or insurance, it can be found through a credit reporting agency.

As you can see, there are some basic steps you can take to guard your credit. This information should help you in filing a dispute about errors. You can study your credit report to see if your credit report contains any errors. Credit reporting is much less important to most people than providing an accurate account of one's credit history. Wrong information abounds in credit reports. Yet, by taking the time to examine each report closely, you can protect your credit and get an accurate account of your credit history.