Resolving Credit Problems

Once you have your credit report from Equifax, Trans Union, or Experian (formerly TRW), there is a specific procedure for removing and correcting items, or adding your own statement.

You should...

• Call the credit bureau and clearly identify each disputed item, state the facts, and indicate why it should be deleted or corrected.
• Follow up in writing with copies (not originals) of documents backing your claim. It is helpful to include a copy of the report on which you've circled the disputed items.
• (Recommended) use certified mail, and request a return receipt. Keep copies of everything.

The credit bureau must...

• Investigate the items in question.
• Forward your dispute with all relevant data to the information provider (the company that provided the inaccurate information about you.)
• This normally must be done within 30 days. (Frivolous claims can be rejected without investigation.)

The information provider must...

• Investigate and review all relevant information provided by the credit bureau and report its findings to them.
• If the disputed information is found to be inaccurate, it must notify all nationwide credit bureaus so they can correct this information in your file.

The credit bureau must then...

• Delete all disputed information from your file that cannot be verified.
• Correct all information that was found to be erroneous.
• Update data that was incomplete, such as the current status of the account.
• Delete items from your report that correctly belong to someone else.

You then have the following rights...

• A written copy of the results, and if a correction was made, a free copy of your report from the bureau.
• Written notice if the bureau later adds the disputed item back onto your report based on proof from the information provider. The provider's name, address, and phone must be indicated.
• Correction notices (upon your request) sent from the bureau to anyone who received your report in the past 6 months.
• A corrected report (upon your request) sent to any employer who received your report in the past 2 years to evaluate your application for a job.
• If you disagree with the findings, you may write a statement and ask that the credit bureau include it all future reports.

How long does negative information stay on my report?

Negative information can be removed if it can no longer be verified by the parties involved. Otherwise, only time can remove accurate negative items. Most negative items are automatically removed after seven years from the original delinquency date. Here are the exceptions:

• Bankruptcies are on your report 10 years.
• Lawsuits or an unpaid judgments against you can be reported more than 7 years if the statute of limitations is longer.

There is no time limit for:

• Information about criminal convictions.
• Information in response to a job application where the salary is over $75,000.
• Information reported because of a credit or life insurance application for over $150,000.