How Do I Change My Credit Report?

If you apply for new credit, such as a mortgage, car loan, credit card, or other form, the lending agency will likely use your credit report as a deciding factor in whether you get the loan, or in determining your interest rate. Any errors on your credit report can harm your chances of receiving the credit you need. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that creditors and credit reporting agencies provide accurate information in these reports. Because of this, all three of the major credit reporting agencies allow consumers to request changes to errors in their personal credit reports.

Getting Your Credit Reports

Equifax, TransUnion and Experian are the three main credit reporting agencies. Some lenders may look at just one of these reports, some may look at two and some may look at all three. It is important that you obtain copies of all three reports since they can contain very different information. Without knowing which report your lender will pull, it's best to be prepared by having all three correct and ready to go. The websites of all three credit bureaus can be found in the Resources section below. Or, you may request all three of your credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com for free once per year. Find a link in References.

Making Changes

Once you have all three of your credit reports, you will want to go over each one carefully. Check your address and contact information, employment history, account names and numbers, payment histories, and public records such as bankruptcies. If anything is in error, you can start the dispute process to get it cleared up.

The credit reporting bureaus provide ways to make disputes through their websites. But if your disputes are more complicated or you have documentation to share, it is better to handle the dispute through the mail. Here are the mailing addresses for handling disputes:

Equifax Information Services, LLC
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374

Experian Credit Bureau
475 Anton Blvd.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

TransUnion Consumer Solutions
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022-2000

Write the credit reporting bureau a letter explaining the error or errors that you have found. Explain what account or other information is incorrect and also spell out what the correct information should be. If you have any written documentation that supports your position, include a copy of that documentation with the letter. Never send originals, as you will not get them back. You may also want to include a copy of your credit report with the error highlighted to make it easier for the person reviewing your claim to understand the nature of the problem.

Once the credit reporting bureau has your information, it has 30 days in which to conduct an investigation. The bureau will contact the creditor to clear up any misinformation. If your claims are correct or if the creditor does not respond within 30 days, the credit reporting agency will make the changes requested. At this point, the credit reporting bureau will send you a letter detailing the results of the investigation and what actions were taken.

If there are negative items on your credit report that are accurate, they will automatically be removed in seven years, or 10 years if it is a bankruptcy, from the time they occurred.