What to do With False Items on Your Credit Report
It happens all of the time. Someone goes to buy a house or a new car, and they are denied credit. Why does this happen? Their credit is less than stellar. But what if they have kept up with their payments and they know that they have not defaulted on any loans? That means that there might be false information on their credit report. When this happens, there are important actions to take in order to ensure that the credit is repaired.
Order Your Credit Report
In order to get the best accuracy possible, order your credit report from the three major credit reporting agencies. Those agencies are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. You might have irregularities that show up on one report but do not show up on another, so it is necessary to order all three.
Check for Inconsistencies
After you have your three credit reports in front of you, you need to check the validity of your debt. Is there anything on your report that you do not feel is right? If that is the case, you need to make a note of all debt that you believe is in error.
Dispute
If you have found erroneous charges on your credit report, you will need to report that to the reporting agency in the form of a dispute. To do this, you will notify the agency, usually on their website although you can do it in writing as well, that a certain negative mark on your report is incorrect. You will then say why you believe it to be incorrect.
The agency will then investigate the dispute. If you are found liable for the debt, the agency will let you know and you will be expected to pay it. If the agency was found in error, the charge will get removed from your records.
Check Back
Make sure that your credit report is updated to reflect any changes that have occurred. In order for your credit score to go up, the bad information is going to have to be removed from your report.
Always know what is on your credit report so you can keep up with all erroneous reports. A bad credit score affects people in many ways and it is necessary to know what is on your report. As a rule, it is a good idea to order a credit report every six months in order to verify all reports. That will keep you from getting denied credit due to a mistake.
