Tips to get rid of incorrect entries in your credit report
If you are looking at you credit report and you start seeing multiple late payments when you know that you made those payments either on time or before they were due, you are going to need to do something to get this situation fixed. There are a few different things that you need to do to start the process of repairing these mistakes as quickly as you possibly can. The longer the inaccuracies stay on your credit report, the more of a chance you have of being denied credit when you need it.
Gather all pertinent information together first. This means that you need to go and get your checkbook, credit card or bank statement(s). You need to sit down and very carefully go over your check registry and/or check stubs/returned checks to see what you paid and when you paid it. You will need to have your bank statements and checks handy when you contact the creditor and credit reporting bureaus to get the errors fixed.
State all information clearly and get names. You need to be clear and concise when speaking to those that work for the creditors and credit bureaus. You also need to remember to ask for the person’s first and last name and extension number (and their team number if need be) so that you can note this in your records. Getting their immediate supervisor’s full name and information is also advisable due to how quickly people come and go from creditor’s employ.
Keep very accurate records of everything. You need to have every single detail noted down as accurately as possible in order to get anything taken care of. If the creditor says to you over the phone that they will remove the error immediately from your credit report, you absolutely must get them to send you that confirmation in writing so that you have the written proof that they promised to remove the inaccurate information if they do not do so.
Make sure that you keep track of what is on your credit report. This is about the only way that you are going to know what is being reported by the creditors to the credit bureaus about you and your payment history. This is also part of how you can detect if you have been or are a victim of Identity Theft. By making certain that you are aware of what is going on with your own credit report you can spot the errors faster and get them fixed quicker.
If you just leave the information on your credit report that is false, inaccurate or somehow wrong, you are leaving yourself open to lawsuits that you have nothing to do with if your Identity is stolen and risk being denied the loan that you need or that credit card that you want because of this. You will not get errors on your credit report fixed with a single phone call, yet this is what it takes to get the process started so that those mistakes will be corrected.
