Correcting Credit History Report Errors
Making changes to your credit history report
It's possible for incorrect, incomplete, or outdated information
to appear on your credit history report. If it does, it can lower your chances
of getting the loans, credit cards, and other credit products you
desire. If you find an error, take the following steps to fix it
as soon as possible. If you see evidence of fraud or identity theft,
contact the three major credit history reporting agencies immediately. Explain
the situation and ask that a fraud alert be placed in your file.
Also report the fraud to the police and obtain a police report to
provide to your lenders.
It's also important to keep a record of everything you do. Make
copies of any letters or documents you send. Never send original
documents.
After you notify the credit history reporting agency of the inaccuracy,
the credit history reporting agency will review it. If further investigation
is required, they will provide notification of your dispute, including
relevant information you may have submitted, to the source that
furnished the disputed information to them.
The source will then review the information, conduct its own investigation,
and report back. The credit history reporting agency will then make the
appropriate changes to your credit file based on the investigation,
and will notify you of the update.
The source will then review the information, conduct its own investigation,
and report back. The credit history reporting agency will then make the
appropriate changes to your credit file based on the investigation,
and will notify you of the update.
Contact the Lender Regarding the Problem
In some cases, you should also contact the appropriate lender, sometimes
even before you contact a credit history reporting agency. This is especially
true if you are a victim of identity theft or fraud. You should
also contact the lender if information that you asked a credit history reporting
agency to investigate was verified as accurate by that lender.
Most large lenders have standard procedures for customers to dispute
items on their account. If you have proof that the item in question
is incorrect, it should be resolved quickly.
If the lender finds that the disputed information is indeed incorrect,
the lender is required under the Fair Credit History Reporting Act, to update
its records both internally and with the credit history reporting agencies
it deals with, usually within 30 days.
Always follow up your phone calls with a letter. List each item
that you want to have investigated and state how it is inaccurate,
attaching copies of relevant documents. Include your full name,
account number, the dollar amount in question, and the reason you
believe the item is wrong. Be concise.
Contact the Other Credit History Reporting Agencies
IIf you find an inaccuracy with one credit history reporting agency, you
may want to get your credit history report from the other two agencies to
see if their reports contain the same item. In most cases, after
you have corrected it with one agency, the other agencies also receive
the corrected information. But for prompt correction, it's best
to contact each of the three credit history reporting agencies yourself.
Ensure Your Request Was Addressed
A credit history reporting agency has 30 days to complete its investigation,
so it should generally notify you of the results of its investigation
within a month or so of your request. It will also provide you with
the results of its investigation free of charge. Examine the results
carefully to ensure that the information has been modified or removed,
if it was not verified by the source.
If an item has been modified, you can have the credit history reporting
agency send a revised report to anyone who received a report in
the past six months (two years in the case of employers).
If You Disagree with the Results
You have the right to file a brief statement with the credit history reporting
agency, free of charge, explaining the nature of your disagreement.
The credit history reporting agency may limit your statement to 100 words,
and may assist you in writing a clear summary of the disagreement.
Your statement will become part of your credit file, and will be
included each time your credit file is accessed and the disputed
item is included in a credit history report.
