Having negative items on your credit report, such as unpaid debts, charge-offs and collections, can have a significant impact on your credit score. Negative items don't remain on your credit report forever, expiring after seven years in most cases. If the information on your credit report isn't accurate, however, you can get the inaccurate entries removed earlier.
Checking Your Credit Report
To learn what is contained in your credit report and ensure all items on your report are correct, you should review your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Federal law allows you to obtain a free copy of your report with each of the bureaus once per year through the AnnualCreditReport.com website. Although these reports do not contain your credit score, they do contain all the positive and negative reports of your financial activity used to calculate your score.
Dispute Inaccurate Information
If information on your credit report is inaccurate or lists debts that do not belong to you, disputing the inaccurate entries can get them removed from the report. To dispute entries, contact the credit bureau that issued the report, either by phone, postal mail or a dispute form on its website. The credit bureau investigates disputed entries, asking the creditor to verify that the information is correct. If the information cannot be verified or the creditor doesn't respond, the credit bureau removes the entry.
Removal by Creditor
If debts in your credit report are legitimate, you may still be able to remove them. Contact the creditor and try to reach an agreement to have the creditor remove the debt from your credit report once the debt is paid. Not all creditors are willing to do this, but some may agree if you pay off the debt in a lump sum or within a certain time frame. Make sure you get a copy of the agreement in writing before making the payment, and send this agreement to the credit bureau if the debt is not removed.
Removal After Expiration
In some instances, old debts that have been paid off may include updated information that makes them appear more recent than they are. This may cause the debt to remain on your report longer than it should, which typically is seven years. If the debts listed have expired, inform the credit bureau of the error, and it will investigate the dispute and remove the listing if it can confirm it is older than seven years.
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