How can I correct my credit report, and why is it important to do so? That is the subject of today’s lesson. So let’s jump right in and talk about why it’s important to correct errors you might find on your credit reports.

When you, a car loan, or any other type of financing, the lender is going to review your credit score. In truth, this is only one of many things they will review when considering you for loan. But it’s also one of the most important criteria. is derived from the information contained within your credit reports, and those reports are a reflection of your financial history and habits.

Dealing With Credit Report Inaccuracies

Unfortunately, credit report errors are a fairly common thing. I once saw an independent study that suggested more than 70% of consumer credit reports contained errors of some kind. So why is this such a big deal? Well, when you have erroneous information within your reports, it can lower your score. So, by extension, these credit report errors can reduce your chances of getting approved for a mortgage or any other type of loan.

That is why you must correct errors whenever you find them. Of course, you cannot correct any mistakes until you get copies of the reports and review them for accuracy. So that’s the first step in the process we will discuss.

Step One – Get Copies of Your Current Reports

This is actually the easiest step in the whole process. By federal law, you are entitled to receive a from all three of the reporting bureaus, once per calendar year. You can request your reports by visiting the government-mandated website at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Step Two – Review You Were Reports for Errors

Here’s an article I wrote in the past that explains for accuracy. It also explains the key sections you will find in your reports when reviewing them. Basically, you are looking for any information that is inaccurate or outdated.

Inaccurate information might include a misspelled name, an incorrect address, or — even worse — an incorrect Social Security number. Outdated information may include a negative entry on your report that is beyond the expiration date.

Negative information (such as missed payments and other delinquencies) can only remain on your credit report for up to seven years. Bankruptcy information can stay on their for up to ten years. But beyond those expiration dates, the negative entries must be removed from your credit reports. If they are not removed at the right time, you can dispute it with the credit reporting company that produced that particular report.

Step Three – Dispute Any Errors That You Find

If you find an error on one or more of your credit reports, you should correct it immediately. We already talked about the reasons for this, so let’s move on to the actual process that takes place.

All three of the (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) have a “disputes” section of their websites. You can find it from the home page of these companies, and you can initiate the dispute process online. In some cases, you may need to follow the online process by mailing certain documentation. For example, if you have documents that support your dispute, you should send those to the credit reporting company as well. This will increase the chances that they correct your credit report errors in the manner you have requested.

Step Four – Proper Follow-Up

That is how to correct errors in your credit reports, step by step. But there is one important thing we haven’t talked about yet, and that is persistence.

The reporting bureaus don’t really have any incentive to correct your reports. It takes time and effort on their part, but they really don’t get anything out of it. Yes, they are required by law to investigate all disputes, and to make timely corrections were needed. But this doesn’t change the truth regarding the credit industry — and the truth of the situation is that you must stay on top of them to get your reports corrected.

I recommend keeping a log or journal of all the actions you take to correct your credit report errors, such as documents you have sent, any applicable names and dates, and whatever correspondence you have with the people at the reporting bureau(s). If everything works like it should, you won’t really need any of this information because your reports will be corrected in a timely and proper manner. But if your dispute is ignored for any reason, you’ll be glad you kept notes along the way.

Credit Report Errors Are a Reality

In a perfect world, you wouldn’t need to know how to correct errors on your credit reports, because they would never happen in the first place. But we obviously don’t live in a perfect world, and the truth is these errors are fairly common. So the best thing you can do is research the process required to make corrections, and pursue it with diligence and determination.

I hope this article helps you correct your credit report, and I wish you all the best in your financial endeavors. If you have additional questions about this or any other credit-related topic, try using the search tool at the top of this website. You might also want to review the related articles listed below.

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