In today's world, a lot rides on your credit report, and keeping that report up-to-date and accurate is extremely important.
But do you know what errors or possible corrections to look for or how to go about cleaning up your credit report?
First of all, go through the entire report and find any information that is out-of-date. This commonly occurs with unfavorable information that's over seven years old - such as lawsuits, judgments, criminal records, paid tax liens, late payments, or overdue child support. You should also look out for any bankruptcies listed that occurred over ten years prior and any credit inquiries over two years old. There's no sense in keeping that information on your credit report if you no longer have to.
Your next objective is to clean out any inaccurate information. This can include incorrect names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, social security numbers, or inaccurate employment information. Other inaccuracies may included bankruptcies that aren't listed by their specific chapter number, any erroneous accounts or lawsuits, any closed accounts still listed as open. You should also remove any accounts that you closed if the report does not indicate "closed by consumer" afterward. Sometimes, you may even find that your credit report incorrectly shows you as having made late payments when you always paid on time
You can always request the removal of bad information on your credit report. Fill out a dispute form provided by the credit bureau and list every error with a detailed description. Those changes should be made within 30 days.
If the bureau responds to your dispute by saying that everything is inaccurate, contact them directly to discuss the problem.
But do you know what errors or possible corrections to look for or how to go about cleaning up your credit report?
First of all, go through the entire report and find any information that is out-of-date. This commonly occurs with unfavorable information that's over seven years old - such as lawsuits, judgments, criminal records, paid tax liens, late payments, or overdue child support. You should also look out for any bankruptcies listed that occurred over ten years prior and any credit inquiries over two years old. There's no sense in keeping that information on your credit report if you no longer have to.
Your next objective is to clean out any inaccurate information. This can include incorrect names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, social security numbers, or inaccurate employment information. Other inaccuracies may included bankruptcies that aren't listed by their specific chapter number, any erroneous accounts or lawsuits, any closed accounts still listed as open. You should also remove any accounts that you closed if the report does not indicate "closed by consumer" afterward. Sometimes, you may even find that your credit report incorrectly shows you as having made late payments when you always paid on time
You can always request the removal of bad information on your credit report. Fill out a dispute form provided by the credit bureau and list every error with a detailed description. Those changes should be made within 30 days.
If the bureau responds to your dispute by saying that everything is inaccurate, contact them directly to discuss the problem.
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