Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Can a Company Take Information Off a Credit Report?

Can a Company Take Information Off a Credit Report?

Credit card companies and other lenders can and sometimes do remove information from credit reports. Generally that happens when the company corrects negative information that is inaccurate. There are other instances as well.

Credit Reporting

    The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a federal law governing how credit information is collected and distributed. Companies issuing credit and reporting to the nationwide credit bureaus must abide by the act.

Credit Disputes

    The Fair Credit Reporting Act makes it unlawful for lenders or the nationwide credit bureaus to report inaccurate information about you. You can force a company--or the credit bureaus--to remove inaccurate information by writing a letter to the creditor or the credit bureau.

Incomplete Information

    The Fair Credit Reporting Act also prohibits companies from reporting incomplete information about your credit. Companies can remove incomplete information from your report and substitute information that is more complete. For example, you may have defaulted on a credit card after you stopped making payments, forcing the creditor to close your account and accurately listing it on your credit report as "charged-off." Later you paid the full amount owed, but the account was never updated to show a "paid charge-off" status, which provides more complete information. The act gives you the right to force companies to provide complete information showing the most current, accurate status of your account.

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