subject: How To Clean Up Your Credit Report Quickly [print this page] Your credit report contains personal information such as your full name and address and your employer's name and address as well as information about court suits, jail arrests, bankruptcy filings, foreclosure and short sale proceedings and bills payment trend, to name a few. These factors, in turn, affect your credit score that can range from 300 to 850 points, with 678 points as the average score.
Consumer reporting agencies, also called credit bureaus, gather the abovementioned information, calculate your credit score based on a common formula and then sell the information to various businesses on the national and international levels. These businesses, in turn, use your report to assess your suitability for credit, employment, insurance and other FCRA-allowed uses in their establishments.
With that said, there are two basic but effective ways to obtain a clean credit report from these credit bureaus. This is, of course, assuming that you believe and you have proof about deserving a better credit score than that reflected on your credit report. By the way, there are three major recognized credit bureaus - Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.
First, you have to inform in writing the credit reporting agency about the inaccuracies of their data as it applies to you. You have to include photocopies or second copies - keep the original documents in your possession - of your proofs supporting your position. Of course, your dispute letter must contain your full name and address, the items in the credit report you are disputing, and the facts and explanations for your dispute.
You must close your letter with a request for deletion and/or correction of the inaccurate information. Needless to say, keep copies of your dispute letter with clear indication that indeed the addressees have received them.
The law states that the credit bureau must perform a reinvestigation of the disputed items within 30 days of receipt, unless your position is deemed without merit. In turn, the credit bureau will forward all the relevant information to the information provider for review and reinvestigation on their side. If and when your dispute is deemed with merit, you can then receive a clean credit report.
Second, you must also write the prospective creditor and/or information provider about your dispute of your credit score. Always include second copies or photocopies of your dispute letter and its proofs, which should be addressed to a specific person and address provided by the information provider.
If your dispute is to be reported to any of the credit reporting agency, then a copy of your dispute letter must also be attached. In the event that your dispute indeed has merit, you should be provided with a clean credit report.
However, take note that any and all accurate negative information will be reflected on your credit report for up to 7 years. Exceptions to the rule include bankruptcy information (10 years), criminal convictions (unlimited time), application for a position with annual salary of more than $75,000 (no time limit), lawsuit and unpaid judgments (statute of limitations or 7 years, whichever is longer), credit or life insurance of more than $150,000 (no time limit).
by: Mike Singh
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