Your credit report is a record of your credit activities. It lists all of your credit card accounts and loans, the balances as well as your payment history. It also shows if any action has been taken against you because of unpaid bills such as a lawsuit or bankruptcy filing. Because businesses use this information to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance and employment, it’s important that the information in your report is complete and accurate, especially if you plan to make a big purchase like a home.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is designed to promote accuracy and ensure the privacy of the information used in consumer reports. Under the FCRA, both the credit reporting agency (CRA) and the organization that provided the information to the CRA (usually the credit card company) must correct any errors or incomplete information in your report.

If you do encounter a mistake on your credit report, several steps need to be taken to correct the matter:

Steps to Repair your Credit

1. The first thing to do is get a copy of your credit report from each of the three major Credit Reporting Agencies:

• Equifax, http://www.equifax.com;
• Experian, http://www.experian.com;
• TransUnion, http://www.tuc.com. 

You can pull your credit individually from each bureau or you can pull all three together from one bureau.

2 You can contest any items from each of the CRAs online: 

• Equifax Disputes  
• Experian Disputes  
• Transunion Disputes

3. INSTRUCTIONS:

• The first thing you need to do is to personally order a copy of your own credit report for each credit reporting agency to dispute any inaccuracies with each agency individually.
• Go to the links for each of the credit agencies above.  First follow the link to order an online credit report.  After you order the report write down the report number or print a copy of the report.  NOTE: You can pull your credit individually from each bureau or you can pull all three together from one bureau. a. Equifax, http://www.equifax.com; b. Experian, http://www.experian.com; and c. TransUnion, http://www.tuc.com.
Then go to the online disputes link for that same agency.  Equifax Disputes, Experian Disputes, Transunion Disputes
To logon to dispute items on your credit report you will be asked for the report number gotten above and some personal information.  Enter this information.  
• Next you will be taken to the list of items on your credit report to dispute.  Feel free to dispute any items you feel are inaccurate.
• Repeat this for the other two remaining credit reporting agencies.

4. The FCRA mandates that all CRAs reinvestigate the items in question — usually within 30 days — unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They also must forward all relevant data you provide about the dispute to the credit card company. After the credit card company receives notice of a dispute from the CRA, it must investigate, review all relevant information and report the results to the CRA.

5. If the disputed information is found to be inaccurate, the credit card company must notify all nationwide CRAs so they can correct this information in your file. Disputed information that cannot be verified must be deleted from your file.  What that means to you- if your credit card company or creditor fails to respond to the information forwarded by the credit reporting agency (CRA), normally within 30 days, the item must be removed from your credit file.

6. When the reinvestigation is complete, the CRA must give you the written results and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change. If an item is changed or removed, the CRA cannot put the disputed information back in your file unless the credit card company verifies its accuracy and completeness, and the CRA gives you a written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the credit card company.

7. In addition to the CRA, you should also write to the credit card company about the error. Again, include copies of documents that support your dispute. If you are correct — meaning the information you disputed is found inaccurate — the credit card company cannot use it again. Further, at your request, the CRA must send notices of corrections to anyone who received your report in the past six months.

ADDITIONAL TIPS FOR RAISING YOUR SCORE:

A. Pay credit cards and revolving credit down below 50% of what is available (line amount.) 

B. Do not close credit cards after you pay then off.  Keep them open.  Some people do not understand how this works and will tell you to close your credit cards.  That is totally incorrect.  In addition to helping to raise your score some loan programs will specifically require a number open and active trade lines.

C. Limit the number of people who pull your credit, whether for a car, cell phone or mortgage.  NOTE: you pulling your credit as above is called a "soft pull" and will not show up on your credit and will not lower your score.

D. Want to improve your credit scores by 10+ points? While this is no guarantee, it does work! It is simple and works fairly quickly. Go to https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t.  I have seen this improve credit scores up to 20 points. The benefit is that no pre-screened offers for credit cards or other credit will be sent to you from Companies who use the credit report information for pre-approvals. The score improvement is created by limitations of securing additional credit and prevents credit card companies from pulling/viewing your credit without your permission. How do you think you are pre-approved? Now you know. While this does not inhibit you from obtaining credit, it limits the ease of just mailing in a pre-approved offer.

E. Another way to improve your credit score or increase your limited credit is to have you apply for a secured credit card. Exercise judgment when doing this. In cases where you have limited credit, this will add another tradeline and help you. You must keep this current and only do this with one or two items not many.  See below for more information on this.

FREE CREDIT REPORT: Do you need to find out what your credit looks like?  You can obtain a free copy of your credit report online.

How Long Does Information Stay on a Credit Report?

Credit information can, and usually does, stay on a person's credit report for seven years. Collections stay on the report for seven years from the date of last activity – whether that is the date that the account was filed as a collection or the date the account was paid in full. Here's an example:

"Jane Doe" had a collection for $300 filed against her in October of 1994, and she hasn't paid it. It is now September of 2001, so in a few weeks that collection can come off of her credit report. (She will probably have to request of all three credit bureaus that they take it off.) However, Jane has applied for a loan today, and the loan officer tells her that she has to pay off that debt in order to be approved. Since she has the money, she pays it off. Because the date of last activity is now September 2001, the collection will show on her report until September 2008 – another seven years.

Bankruptcy information can stay on a credit report for ten years. Information about foreclosures is reportable for twelve years from the date filed. Garnishments, judgments, and tax liens can stay on the report for twelve years from the date of entry or for seven years from the date they were satisfied. Dismissed garnishments, judgments, and tax liens are not reportable.

Type of Information	Length of Time Can Stay on Credit Report
General credit information	Seven years
Collection	Seven years from date of last activity
Bankruptcy	Ten years
Foreclosure	Twelve years from the date filed
Garnishment	Twelve years from the date or entry or seven years from the date satisfied
Judgment	Twelve years from the date or entry or seven years from the date satisfied
Tax lien	Twelve years from the date or entry or seven years from the date satisfied

 

NO CREDIT?

At times no credit can be almost at detrimental as no credit. This is particularly important after a spell of bad credit- you need to build up your "good credit." Essentially this shows that you are credit worthy again.