Which Items Correct a Credit Report and Raise a Score the Fastest?

You have a right to dispute incorrect items on your credit reports, according to the Federal Trade Commission dispute information website. Mistakes on reports hurt your credit score because FICO, the major score compiler, uses information from your reports to come up with the credit score. Your score goes up quickly if you correct your report by forcing the removal of incorrect items with heavy influence on credit score calculations.

Payments

The Motley Fool financial website cites payments as the most frequently misreported items on credit reports. On-time payments that show up as late or missed hurt your credit score badly because 35 percent of your score comes from your payment history, according to information on the MyFICO credit score company website. Your score takes a bigger hit for lengthy delinquencies, so focus on payments incorrectly shown as at least 60 days behind.

Amounts

Your credit score looks at the balance of money you owe and your available credit lines, according to the MyFICO website. These amounts sometimes show up incorrectly on your reports, and they count against you if you have too much available credit, which gives you the ability to get into debt quickly, or owe too much money, which could lead to repayment problems. You help your score by disputing mistakes if there is a big discrepancy between the listed amounts and the real numbers because these factors count for 30 percent of your score.

Collection Accounts

Collection accounts hurt your credit score badly, according to MyFICO's list of score calculation factors, because they fall under the payment history area. Debt collectors sometimes agree to pull their entries from your credit reports if you pay the account. Bankrate's Debt Adviser online column recommends negotiating for erasure as a condition of paying. Otherwise you may be able to get rid of the item if the collection agency is reporting incorrect information. Use any mistakes as grounds for a dispute and your score will jump if you are successful.

Incorrect Accounts

Your credit report can get mixed up with someone else's records, according to MSN Money. Mix-ups happen accidentally or when identity thieves steal personal data and use it to get credit cards in your name. Correct such mistakes immediately by notifying the credit bureaus and account issuers, especially if the accounts are pulling down your score because they are not in good standing.

Missing Accounts

Accounts in good standing do not help your credit score if they do not appear on your credit reports. Bankrate advises that account data has to go to the credit bureaus to have any effect in your credit history. Older accounts are especially helpful because the length of time you have had credit makes up 15 percent of your score. Contact lenders if certain accounts are missing from your records and ask them to start reporting the information.