Is there a mistake on your credit report? What do you need to do?
Once you get your credit report and look it over, you may decide that there are some mistakes that need to be fixed. Credit reports often have mistakes that need to be fixed, just like anything else that has been used for a long time. There are two ways to fix your credit report: one is free and the other costs money. Depending on how bad the mistakes are, how long it will take to fix them, and other factors, you might not be able to choose which path to take.
The most common (and free) way to fix an error on a credit report is to file a dispute directly with the credit reporting agency. That agency will start a claim, and it will be up to you to prove it. You have to provide proof, receipts, and sometimes letters that have been signed by a notary. Most of the time, the agent you file the claim with will ask you to send this information right away to speed up the process. To do this, you will have to send the necessary information to an address at the agency that settles disagreements. Fixing a mistake on your credit report is hard to do without the right paperwork, so it's important to keep good financial records.
You can also use a company to fix your credit report. You have to pay for these up front and then every month after that. Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian don't like credit report repair companies, which is not a big surprise. The credit-report repair service gets your credit report on your behalf and, using the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other planned methods, disputes any items you say are wrong. Some companies even offer a paid service that checks your reports for damage in the future. This way to fix your credit report is much more expensive than handling the disputes yourself, but it doesn't take nearly as much time or stress.
No matter what you choose, solving a dispute takes time. Both need you to get credit reports from all three agencies on a regular basis.
The credit reporting agencies have 30 days to respond to your dispute, but it may take much longer than that for the whole problem to be solved. No matter what method you use, patience and persistence are the keys to your success.
