Credit repair is a very real, lucrative business, but not in the terms that you might be associating it with. More often than not, an individual with legitimately bad credit (i.e. late payments, foreclosure, repossession) cannot do anything to repair their poor credit report and score. Only inaccuracies and errors may be removed.
What the Fair Credit Reporting Act Means to You
Simply put, the FCRA allows you to fix any errors that you find on your credit reports. The provider of such inaccuracies (each of the three major credit bureaus; Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian ) has the legal responsibility to correct any mistakes that are found. Your initiation of action to have such items investigated is called a dispute.
How to Check your Credit Reports Errors
In 2004, the federal government made it law that all citizens be allowed one free credit report per year from each of the three main bureaus. By logging onto and poking around each bureau’s site, you will find the appropriate link to bring you where you want to go. Of course, this isn’t the avenue that the bureaus want you to take to acquire your report, so they make it quite tricky to find.
Click here to access all three credit reports for free, courtesy of your federal government’s latest addition to the FCRA- FACT (Free Annual Credit Report).
Find Any Errors? Here’s How to File a Dispute
All issues need to be submitted in writing, which, of course, includes email and other internet related options. Each bureau will have specific directions on the dispute filing process, and it’s much easier than you think. One bureau may have you simply click directly onto the inaccuracy, leaving you with a space to write in the details. Another will have link next to each individual item on you report that brings you directly to a dispute link, and so on.
After your dispute has been filed, the credit bureau has only 30 days to investigate the errors. If the issue is found to be accurate (you were in the wrong), you have the opportunity to write a statement that will appear next to the questionable item on your report for potential creditors to view. If the item is found to be inaccurate (you were in the right), removal of said item and/or correcting the information needs to be completed immediately.
When all is said and done, you will be provided with a revised version of your error-free credit reports through the mail.
Contrary to popular belief, the credit reporting agencies are on the side of consumers, not the creditors. They are not run by the federal government. The laws governing the FCRA have been designed specifically for this purpose. If you feel as though this is not the case, contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and their complaint department immediately.
