Inaccurate entries on your credit report can be embarrassing and potentially harmful to your financial health. Even so, PTMoney states that up to 79 percent of reports may contain mistakes. Inaccurate credit entries can bring down your credit score and cause you to be denied for credit cards, loans, cell phone contracts, rental agreements, insurance policies and jobs. Fortunately, errors will be neutralized if you can get them removed.
Step 1
Audit your Equifax, Experian and TransUnion credit reports, and identify all of the inaccurate entries on each of them. You may find different mistakes on each report since the credit bureaus all compile and report their information independently. You can get all three reports at no cost from AnnualCreditReport.com, a federally run website that issues free copies every year if you order them.
Step 2
Make a list of the errors in each inaccurate entry. Some items may only have one mistake, like the wrong date of account opening or last activity, or an incorrect balance or credit line. Some may have several inaccuracies, which gives you a great chance to remove them. You can dispute an inaccurate entry on new grounds if a credit bureau refuses to do so for the first reason you cite.
Step 3
Send a certified letter with the return receipt requested to each of the credit bureaus asking for removal of all the inaccurate entries you found. Give one reason for each item, even if you found several. Save the additional reasons in case you need to make another dispute. The bureaus prefer that you report mistakes via their online forms, but Credit.com says a written dispute is better. That way you can prove it arrived at the bureaus because you have a receipt. The Federal Trade Commission recommends sending copies of statements and other documents to prove your assertions.
Step 4
Resubmit a dispute for any inaccurate entries the credit bureaus refuse to remove. They have 30 days to investigate your claims and get proof that the entries are correct. They must remove them if they do not get such proof. They may say they have verified an item that you know is wrong. You are allowed to dispute it again if you found another mistake in that same item. Creditinfocenter.com advises waiting six months before challenging the same entry again so the credit bureau won't reject your claim outright on the grounds that you are sending frivolous disputes.
Step 5
Set up your own credit-monitoring program so you will continue to catch inaccurate credit entries. AnnualCreditReport.com lets you order one report at a time. Order one from a different bureau every four months. Look for new inaccuracies and ensure that removed entries do not appear again.
Tips and Warnings
- Challenge inaccurate credit entries with the original creditor if the bureaus refuse to remove them. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion may claim they verified the information, but you can ask the creditor to show the proof to you. Otherwise it must stop reporting the inaccurate entry, which will then drop off your reports.
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