Free Annual Credit Report

When you request your free credit report, make sure to review it carefully and take note of each record on the report that may be inaccurate or untrue. Even if the record is semi-true, you may want to dispute it as there is a possibility that it can be negatively affecting your credit report.

Be sure to read all the instructions that accompany your credit report carefully. The credit bureaus (Equifax, Transunion and Experian) will sometimes use symbols to mark up your credit report and it is easy to become confused on the notation that they use.

Here are some of the steps that you can take to remove negative entries on your credit report:

1. Write down a list of the inaccurate entries that are listed on your credit report.
2. Call up the credit bureau that issued you the report and tell the appropriate person that you are planning to dispute one of your credit report entries.
3. Make sure not to be dissuaded by the person on the other end of the line in regards to disputing your credit report.
4. Ask the person that you are speaking to to issue you a ‘Dispute Form’
5. Complete the ‘Dispute Form’ when you receive it and return it to the appropriate credit bureau by certified mail.
6. After the credit bureau receives the dispute form, they must verify the information that you provided with the bank, lender or creditor that was responsible for listing the entry.
7. The credit bureaus usually take between 30-45 days to review your request and make a decision.

This technique will work for eliminating negative entries because most creditors don’t hang onto old files and it will make it difficult for them to dispute your request. Additionally, past creditors usually don’t care to waste their time verifying the accuracy of your credit report.

That is the basis of why credit repair companies are so successful: they know that by creating a flood of challenges to the credit bureau, creditors would become frustrated and simply appove the request. If you are interested in repairing your own credit report, we recommend taking a look at Credit Report Counseling, as they offer a free, no-hassle credit consultation.