| Cleaning up Your
Credit
Page
Two
Mistakes
on Your Credit Report
Almost every item on your credit report will
have some mistake, even if only slight. Do not acknowledge any any of the accuracies, but
be sure to note all inaccuracies. Write next to each item something like, "not
mine, not accurate, mistaken item, complete error," or whatever is most appropriate.
Request a copy of the corrected report within thirty days. If they do not respond within
30 days, send another letter. In this letter you will include a copy of your dated
original letter and a new letter firmly requesting they remove the disputed information.
Include a cc: to the Federal Trade Commission.
Do
Not Call the Credit Bureaus - Write Letters
The credit bureau may write a letter
asking you to call. Do not call under any circumstances. Your phone call will be recorded
and a log will be made of the conversation. Simply write back with copies of your original
letters, telling them of the original date you submitted your request. Keep a file of all
correspondence to and from the credit bureau and follow through continually. Do not get
discouraged, as this will be worth your while.
What happens is that the credit bureaus forward your dispute to the individual
creditors. who have forty-five days to respond. If they do not respond within the allotted
time the item must be removed. However, if they do respond at a later date with
information that documents the credit report is correct, the item will be placed back on
your credit report.
Bankruptcies
For those of you who have filed bankruptcy in the past, the items that were discharged
will normally show up as a charge-off or uncollected debt. You will want to write to the
credit bureaus, providing a copy of your complete bankruptcy papers and request that they
show the debt as "discharged in bankruptcy." This looks better and raises your
FICO score. FICO sores above 680 make it easier to obtain mortgage loans.
Conclusion
You may not be able to clean up every item on your credit report using these methods,
but you will certainly be able to improve the way it looks to potential creditors.
copyright 2006 RealEstate ABC |
