How to Delete Negative Credit

Deleting negative credit information from your credit report is easy--if the law is on your side. The Fair Credit Reporting Act, a federal law, gives you two ways to remove negative credit entries from your credit report. You can have negative information that is inaccurate removed within about 30 days. Or you can have outdated information removed in about the same time span. Despite what some credit repair agencies claim, there is no other honest way to remove negative information from your report.

Instructions

1

Get a free copy of your credit report from the website Annual Credit Report. The site was created by the nationwide credit bureaus--Equifax, TransUnion and Experian--to offer free credit reports as required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Visit the Annual Credit Report website to view and print your report or see instructions on the homepage for ordering by telephone or mail.

2

Find negative entries on your credit report that are inaccurate. Write a letter to the credit bureau pointing out the inaccuracies. State why the information is wrong. Include your name, address, telephone number and Social Security number in the letter. Mail the letter to the credit bureau at the address listed on the credit report. Wait 30 days for a response.

3

Find negative information on your report that is outdated. By law, negative information such as late payments, charge-offs and judgments can remain on your credit report for seven years. Bankruptcies can remain for 10 years. Check your credit report to determine when the information was first entered. If more than seven years have passed (10 for bankruptcies), write a letter to the credit bureau demanding that the information be removed because it is no longer valid. Wait 30 days for a response.

4

Return to Annual Credit Report to order free reports from the other two nationwide credit bureaus. Dispute negative or outdated information by sending letters to those agencies as well. You're entitled to up to three free credit reports every 12 months, including one from each of the credit bureaus.