Fixing A Credit Report

The first step in fixing a credit report is to read it. You can get a copy of your credit report for free online; just search for “free credit report”. You can get a free copy of your report once a year, as well as when you are denied for credit – you can request a free copy of your credit report from the credit agency which supplied the report to the prospective creditor who turned you down.

Once you see your report, you’ll know why you were denied credit. Now that you know this, how can you go about fixing a credit report? What do you do if you see inaccurate items on your report or ones which you feel to be unfair, even if they are accurate?

If you want to dispute anything on your credit report, then you can do so in writing to the credit agency. They will have to investigate within 30 days. Send your request by certified mail along with copies of canceled checks or any other documents which support your dispute.

The credit reporting agency then has to contact the source of the disputed item. If the agency does not receive proof that the debt is valid within 14 days, they will remove this item from your credit report. Afterwards, they will send you an updated copy of your report and if you ask them to do so, they will also send a copy to any creditor who has asked to see your report in the last six months. You need to ask specifically for this, since it is not done automatically.

Many creditors will not bother to respond to the credit agency if the disputed item is over a year old or if it represents a debt of under $500. Repairing your credit report can be done, even if the items contained are accurate. Even when you don’t manage to have a dispute resolved to your satisfaction on the first attempt, you are permitted to submit another dispute after 30 days.

If you cannot have an item removed, you will be allowed to provide a short explanation of the item (this can be up to 100 words long). If you had a dispute over a charge, you can briefly lay out the details here.

If there is a long history of late payments and defaults, repairing your credit score can be a long term project. Even if this is the case, you can clear up some items and give an explanation of others. This kind of effort will go along way in helping to repair your credit report.