How Do You Remove Child Support From Your Credit Report?

Having kids is a wonderful experience. Failure to pay child support, on the other hand, can be a costly mistake. Collection agencies can report late payments to the credit bureau; such derogatory marks have the potential to lower your FICO score. According to Fair Isaac Corporation, the company that invented the FICO scoring model, the way you pay your bills accounts for 35 percent of your overall score. Fortunately, negative items on a credit report can only remain for a maximum of seven years, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If you have late child support payments on your credit report that are beyond the statute of limitation, here's how to have them removed.

Instructions

1

Get a free copy of your credit report. Consumers are allowed one report each year under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. Congress created the website www.annualcreditreport.com as a way for consumers to order the free reports, but you can also order one directly from the website of the three major credit agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You can also order reports by phone or by mail.

2

Look over your credit report carefully. Creditors can add information to your report at any time, so it's prudent to check for any changes. Always check the "personal information" section to ensure that your credit file isn't merged with that of another consumer. Read the "negative accounts" section and check to see if the child support delinquency still appears on the report. Items are removed from the credit report on a regular basis as well.

3

File a dispute with the credit bureau to have the child support delinquencies removed. The Fair Credit Reporting Act mandates that only accurate information may appear on a credit report. You can file disputes online at the bureau's website, via phone or by mail. You will need the credit report number of your most recent credit report in order to initiate a dispute. If filing online, the dispute form will allow you to indicate which items you are disputing and the reason for the dispute. If disputing by phone, simply tell the representative the information instead and if done by mail, include all pertinent information in your dispute letter. Include your credit report number on all correspondence. Always send the dispute certified mail.

4

Print out your credit report if you ordered it online. Also print a copy of the dispute form that you filled out. Maintain these items for your records and as proof that the dispute was actually submitted. For mailed disputes, keep a copy of your mail receipts.

5

Give the credit bureaus up to 30 days to investigate your dispute and make any corrections. Bureaus are required by law to verify the information with the reporting party and correct any inaccurate details. If unable to verify the information, they must delete the item completely. You will receive the results of an online dispute via email, and the results of phone or mail disputes by mail. The investigation results will include any changes that were made and a new copy of your credit report. When receiving a report by mail, please allow a few extra days beyond the 30-day mark for the report to arrive.

6

Contact the reporting agency or department directly if the credit bureau's investigation is not to your liking. Bureaus can only verify information, but if you correct the error at the source, those changes will appear on your credit report as well.