Errors on your Credit Report

First Published Date : June 4, 2011

It is estimated that about 75 per cent of all credit reports have errors on them. It happens and when it does, it is a big annoyance for many people. Often, errors can be something that you never had or bought, or it could be an account you paid off but which is not shown as paid off.

Thankfully, when there is an error on your credit report, you can fix it easily and all you need to do is follow these steps.

First of all, get your credit report. Without your credit report, how will you know whether or not you have an error on your credit report? If you live in the United States, then you are entitled to one free credit report a year. You can get a free credit report, every 12 months, from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You can also get your free credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1.877.322.8228.

If you find an error on the credit report, do the following:

1. In writing, send a letter to the credit report agency detailing what information you believe is incorrect. When you do this, send copies of any documents that will support the position that you have paid off a bill, or that you never had that credit account in the first place. Explain why you dispute the error and that you want the error removed or corrected on your credit report. Make sure you send your letter through certified mail with “return receipt requested”. By law, the credit report agency must investigate the error within 30 days and then send you all date related to the error to the organization that provided the information or error to your credit report. Then, they have to report the information to you and tell you in writing whether or not the dispute has been approved or rejected.

2. When you send the letter to the credit agency, send copies of the same documents and the same letter to the creditor that you believe is responsible for the error on your credit report.

If your error dispute is rejected, then you need to find more information to back up your claim, otherwise there is little you can do but pay whatever you are believed to owe by the creditor. Your other option is to contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1.877.382.4357 to state your dispute and that you want your credit report cleared. A last resort is legal action because often the legal action will cost you more than it will to just pay off the debt.

Credit errors are terrible things but often they can be removed very easily as long as you have the documentation proving that the item on your credit report is in fact an error. This is why it is so important to hold onto your receipts and any items relating to your credit so when an error does happen, you can clear it up very easily.

Featured