Your reports from the TransUnion, Equifax and Experian credit bureaus hold significant power because they influence decisions by banks and other lenders, insurers and even employers. You have some power over your reports because the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) spells out circumstances under which you can get items removed from them, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Improve your credit score by erasing every negative entry possible.
Review Reports Carefully
The FCRA empowers you to challenge any mistake on your credit reports, no matter how small, as long as your claim is legitimate, according to the Credit Infocenter credit repair site. You can dispute negative items with minor errors like misspelled company names, incorrect addresses, dates or amounts. They must be erased completely if the creditors do not respond to the credit bureau's verification attempts; otherwise, they are corrected.
Send Documentation
The credit bureaus encourage consumers to dispute incorrect credit report items online, but the FTC recommends sending a postal letter instead. This gives you the opportunity to enclose documentation verifying your dispute. For example, the bureaus might be listing certain credit card payments as delinquent when you have statements or canceled checks proving they were applied on time. Scan or photocopy your proof and mail it to the bureau with your detailed letter.
Check Dates
Delinquent items can only stay on your credit reports for seven years from the original late payment date, according to Lew Sichelman of the "Wall Street Journal." This does not change even if the account is later sold to a debt collector. Check dates on old negative items to see if they should be removed. Challenge any that are past the seven-year reporting date.
Review Reports Regularly
You never know when a mistake might appear on your credit reports because lenders and financial institutions constantly provide updates to TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. The FTC states that the FCRA lets you get one free report yearly from each bureau through annualcreditreport.com. Spread out your ability to find and remove mistakes by ordering one report every four months, the California Office of Privacy Protection recommends.
Confirm Accounts
Make sure every account that appears on your credit report actually belongs to you. Bureaus sometimes mix up records, and the FTC warns that identity thieves open accounts with stolen information. Your first sign that your identity is compromised may be fraudulent accounts on your reports. They can be removed through a dispute, and you should also notify the account issuers and place fraud alerts on your credit reports.
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