Start Today To Clean Up Credit Report
The best way to clean up credit report errors is to start a do it yourself credit repair , as third party companies charge high fees and may not understand exactly what you are disputing. To ensure the accuracy of your credit report file , which is vital to the calculation of your FICO score, you need to investigate your credit file very carefully . Here are some tips on how you can start to clean up your scores.
First thing that you need to do is to get copies of the reports from the credit rating bureaus , namely, TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. This is due to the fact that some companies only report to one agency. You will want to make sure that all the positive feedback gets included to provide you with a much needed increase in credit scores . You are entitled to receive one free copy every year from all three agencies, so it is not necessary to go online and order copies and to pay .
Once you get your hands on the reports, you need to sit down and look at each transaction. Make copies of the reports and encircle the inaccuracies that you find. Some of the things you need to look out for include:
- Accounts that you have closed but are still being reported as open.
- Accounts that you have paid off but are still showing a balance.
- Accounts that report the highest balance versus the credit limit.
- Accounts that you did not open or are not aware of (identity theft)
- Late or overdue notices that you are sure you did not incur
- Unauthorized companies that have pulled a copy of your credit report
Once you have found all the inaccuracies on your reports, clean it up by opening an investigation to dispute credit file The consumer reporting agencies cannot legally remove the inaccuracies without a proper investigation. There are two ways to dispute the errors. You can either go to the company that originally reported the error and have it challenged , or you can go directly to TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian to have these checked out. The best way to do this is to send copies of the reports with the errors encircled. Include a brief letter about why these are inaccurate and why it should be removed. Make sure to provide supporting documents as well and keep the originals with you.
So, you want to increase credit score? Remember, it takes time to clean up credit report inaccuracies. Lenders typically update the consumer reporting agencies every 30 days, and the actual investigation may also take as long. Do not be discouraged. Most inaccuracies can be removed if it is proven that you are correct. However, if the negative feedback is found to be valid, it will take anywhere between 7 to 10 years before it is removed from your credit report.
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