Two Ways To Fix Your Credit Score

What can you do?

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), both the consumer reporting company and the information provider (that is, the person, company, or organization that provides information about you to a consumer reporting company) are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. Fixing your means contacting the consumer reporting company and the information provider.

You can do one of two things to fix your credit score:

1. Tell the consumer reporting company, in writing, what information you think is inaccurate. Consumer reporting companies must investigate the items in question -- usually within 30 days -- unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They also must forward all the data you provide about the inaccuracy to the organization that provided the information. After the information provider gets this notice, they must investigate and report the results back to the consumer reporting company. If the information provider finds the disputed information is inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide consumer reporting companies:
   
   
   • Equifax
   • Experian
   • TransUnion
     
   ...so they can correct the information in your file. When the investigation is complete, the consumer reporting company must give you the written results and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change. (This free report does not count as one of your annual free reports.) If an item is changed or deleted, the consumer reporting company cannot put the disputed information back in your file unless the information provider verifies that it is accurate and complete. The consumer reporting company also must send you written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the information provider. Here's the other way to go about fixing your credit score.
   
2. Tell the creditor or other information provider in writing that you dispute an item. Many providers specify an address for disputes. If the provider reports the item to a consumer reporting company, it must include a notice of your dispute. And if you are correct -- that is, if the information is found to be inaccurate -- the information provider may not report it again.

What can you do if the consumer reporting company or information provider won’t correct the information?

You can ask that a statement of the dispute be included in your file and in future reports. You also can ask the consumer reporting company to provide your statement to anyone who received a copy of your report in the recent past.

If you tell the information provider that you dispute an item, a notice of your dispute must be included any time the information provider reports the item to a consumer reporting company. You'll probably pay a fee for this service.

How long can a consumer reporting company report negative information?

A consumer reporting company can report most accurate negative information for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years. There is no time limit on:

• Reporting information about criminal convictions
• Information reported in response to your application for a job that pays more than $75,000 a year
• Information reported because you’ve applied for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance
• Information about a lawsuit or an unpaid judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer

So don't assume that everything on your credit report(s) is true and accurate. And if you find something that isn't, you must take the initiative to straighten it out. There is too much at stake to be complacent.