How to Clear Up an Error on My Credit Report

A credit report details an individual's credit history. This document details a person's repayment history, revolving lines of credit (such as credit cards and home equity loans), mortgage loans, personal loans and automotive loans. Additionally, credit reports contain negative credit items, such as collection accounts, late payments, foreclosures and bankruptcies. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, the three credit bureaus, use a person's credit report to determine her FICO score. A credit report inaccuracy, especially a negative item such as a collection account, can harm a person's credit profile and may preclude her from getting access to credit. You can fix a mistake on your credit report in a few steps.

Instructions

1

Go to TransUnion's, Equifax's or Experian's (whichever one contains the inaccurate credit report item) credit dispute website. Fill in your identifying information, including your name, address, date of birth and Social Security number.

2

Use your copy of your credit report to fill in the inaccurate item's information, including the type of item (for example, "collection" for a collection account), name of the item and date the item last updated.

3

Verify all your information is correct. Submit the dispute resolution form.

4

Repeat these steps to dispute the inaccurate item with the other two credit bureaus (if the inaccurate item appears on those credit reports).