How to Fix Errors on Your Credit Report
Your credit report is incredibly important. Not only do potential lenders check it when you’re trying to secure credit, but landlords, cell phone companies, utility companies, insurance companies, etc. have also been known to check your credit prior to doing business with you.
Given the above, it’s in your best interest to check your credit reports regularly and clear up any errors or out of date information. In addition to protecting your credit score, checking your credit report is also a good way of detecting against identity theft before things get out of control.
Fortunately, if you find errors on your report, it’s relatively easy to correct them. For example, I had a medical bill that was erroneously sent to collections. My insurance company had paid it years ago, so I was surprised to see it there. While this error had a huge negative impact on my credit score, I was ultimately able to get it fixed.
How to get your free credit reports
You can get a free copy of your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus once per year. To order your reports online, visit annualcreditreport.com. Note that this site is the only place where you can get your reports completely free. Sites such as FreeCreditReport.com and MyFICO.com have strings attached, as you have to enroll in free trial and then cancel before you get charged.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, there are additional circumstances in which you can get free access to your credit reports:
“Under federal law, you’re also entitled to a free report if a company takes adverse action against you, such as denying your application for credit, insurance, or employment, based on information in your report. You must ask for your report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. The notice will give you the name, address, and phone number of the consumer reporting company.
You’re also entitled to one free report a year if you’re unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days; if you’re on welfare; or if your report is inaccurate because of fraud, including identity theft.”
Finally, it’s worth noting that each of the three bureaus will provide you with a free credit report if you place a fraud alert on your file.
How to dispute errors on your credit report
Now that you’ve reviewed your credit report and found some errors, you need to decide how you want to dispute it. For starters, all three credit bureaus offer online dispute resolution. This is a great place to start, though you can’t necessarily fix all of your problems online.
Contact numbers and online dispute sites:
- Equifax: (800) 685-1111 (Online Dispute Resolution)
- Experian: (888) 397-3742 (Online Dispute Resolution)
- TransUnion: (800) 888-4213 (Online Dispute Resolution)
Fixing errors on your credit report by mail:
As convenient as online dispute resolution might be, sometimes you’ll need to send your dispute through the mail. If you’re unsure, call the credit bureaus (numbers above) to verify what you need to do for your specific case.
When we were disputing an error on my credit report, I called Equifax to get some more information on what to send with the claim. Some items you may need to include (depending on your error):
- Copy of driver’s license or state ID card
- Copy of Social Security card
- The full name of the creditor or collection agency
- The account number in question
- A concise description of why you’re disputing it
- Any paperwork you have that supports your case
It definitely pays to call ahead and get specific guidance for your for how to handle your dispute if you’re going to mail anything to them.
Sample credit report dispute letter
In case you’re unsure what to include in your dispute letter, the FTC has a sample dispute letter to help you out.
Date
Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip CodeComplaint Department
Name of Company
Address
City, State, Zip CodeDear Sir or Madam:
I am writing to dispute the following information in my file. The items I dispute also are circled on the attached copy of the report I received.
This item (identify item(s) disputed by name of source, such as creditors or tax court, and identify type of item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.) is (inaccurate or incomplete) because (describe what is inaccurate or incomplete and why). I am requesting that the item be deleted (or request another specific change) to correct the information.
Enclosed are copies of (use this sentence if applicable and describe any enclosed documentation, such as payment records and court documents) supporting my position. Please investigate this (these) matter(s) and (delete or correct) the disputed item(s) as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Your nameEnclosures: (List what you are enclosing)
And remember… Always send copies of your documentation. Keep your originals!
Credit bureau mailing addresses
What follows is a list of addresses for the major credit reporting agencies.
Equifax Information Services, LLC
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta,GA 30374
Experian
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013-0949
TransUnion Corp.
P.O. Box 2000
Springfield, PA 19022-2000
You should receive a letter in approximately 4-6 weeks regarding the status of the dispute. Mark the date you sent your dispute on your calendar, and keep detailed records in case there are any further problems.
Dealing with accurate negative information
If there are legitimate negative items on your credit report, there’s not much that you can do. In most cases, negative information will be removed from your credit report seven years after the date it was last reported. As you slowly rebuild your credit history, you should see your more and more positive information on your credit report, the negatives will gradually drop off, and your score should rise accordingly.
Closing thoughts
Fixing your credit report takes a bit of time, but it’s worth it. I’m certainly glad to have the medical collection taken off of my credit report. Of course, it pays to have proper documentation as you go through the process. In my case, I had proof of payment, so it was just a matter of filing my request and waiting.
Have you been through this? Do you have any tips to add?
Published on April 22nd, 2009 - 11 Comments
Filed under: Credit Cards
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About the author: Laura is a twenty-something woman working to improve her finances and reduce debt. She writes about personal finance for college students and grads at Green Panda Treehouse.
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This is a fantastic summary of information needed to fix errors on your credit report.
In my experience, the people whom I’ve know with errors usually put off fixing them because (a) they don’t have the knowledge and (b) they think it won’t be worth the work.
This kind of post goes a long way in helping eliminate (a) and hopefully minimizing (b). Great work!
Comment by Baker @ ManVsDebt — Apr 22nd 2009 @ 8:29 amGreat post!
I highly recommend checking your reports– I found errors and everyone I have spoken to who has checked theirs has also found errors . . .
Comment by DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad — Apr 22nd 2009 @ 8:53 amWhat constitutes an error that one wants to fix?
I read my credit report last year (got it as part of my refi, which was to a lower rated 30yr fixed) and the only “errors” I found were some listed addresses. They thought I lived at some point in NC with my Dad since we owned a beach rental property together. Do I care about that?
Comment by ckstevenson — Apr 22nd 2009 @ 10:37 amGood! I needed this post. I plan on disputing something this summer.
Comment by Trevor @ Financial Nut — Apr 22nd 2009 @ 1:24 pmFor those interested in tracking their credit for free, I suggest using CreditKarma.com. This is a truly great service for managing your credit.
Comment by Brad @ Twenty Something Sense — Apr 22nd 2009 @ 2:35 pm@ckstevenson: I had something similar with my credit report listing me in another state. It’s up to you, but I’d fix it for two reasons:
1. It’s a bit misleading a may confuse some lenders.
2. It’s a very easy dispute to fix.
I think you raised a good point by asking how accurate do you want the report to be. Thanks!
Comment by Laura — Apr 22nd 2009 @ 4:43 pmYeah, I tend to agree with Laura. Things like that are not at all contentious, so you might as well go ahead and dispute them. No, minor things like that are not likely to create problems, but it’s probably good to get rid of inaccuracies just in case.
Excellent review! And I’m so glad you mentioned the accurate negative information. I wrote something similar to this at MYC several months ago and was attacked by someone who tried to say it was perfectly legal to dispute legitimate negative information. The fact is, knowingly disputing accurate information in an effort to have it removed is fraud. So, it’s best to be completely honest when dealing with your credit.
Something else I wanted to add. Even though the negative information stays on your credit file for 7 years, it only negatively impacts your score for 4 years. You should start seeing an increase in your scores at that point, not just at the 7 year mark when things start falling off.
Comment by Kristy @ Master Your Card — Apr 22nd 2009 @ 11:27 pmGreat tips Laura. I had an “error” on my credit report a few years back – the hospital kept sending my bill to a temporary address that I didn’t think to apply mail forwarding to. Years later I found out about the $200 that was in the hands of collection agencies! Now the mess is all gone, but I might have fought it in the past with these tips. Thanks.
Comment by Wrinkly Dollar — Apr 23rd 2009 @ 9:12 pmLaura. You. Rock. This is just what my in laws needed to know. In fact they asked my not 3 hours ago how to do this.
I’m sharing this one with our readers at WalletPop.
Thanks for the excellent write up.
Comment by Josh Smith — Apr 23rd 2009 @ 11:50 pmI really enjoyed the article AND the comments! In fact, I wanted to add to #9 by Wrinkly Dollar – make sure you renew all forwards every 6 months AND if you have adult kids or roommates who have moved out of your house to another location, check with them to see if they are starting to get junk mail to their address with your name on it. That has happened to me twice and definitely causes concern over the possibility of id theft when they move if the mail keeps going there. Best solution is pretty much follow the great advice in this article to keep checking your credit reports regularly
Comment by Birdie — May 11th 2009 @ 3:55 pm