Take Charge of Your Credit

What happens if you obtain a copy of your credit report and find there is inaccurate or out-of-date information regarding your accounts, payments or other data? There are a number of steps you can take to fix the problem:

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  Contact the credit reporting agency. Write a letter or call the credit bureau in question and tell them about the problem. They will conduct an investigation on your behalf and notify you within 30 days if and when any changes have been made to your report.
• Contact the lender directly. You can also contact your credit card company, loan officer or bank entity to sort out the discrepancy. It usually helps to call the company to alert them to the problem first, and then follow up with a concise letter referencing the issue in question. Include your name and account information in the letter. If an inaccuracy is detected, the company has 30 days to correct it both in their own internal records as well as with the appropriate credit bureau(s).
  • Equifax Information Services
    PO Box 740241
    Atlanta, GA 30374
    1-800-685-1111
    www.equifax.com
  • Experian Consumer Assistance
    (Call for mailing address for your state)
    1-888-397-3742
    www.experian.com
  • TransUnion
    PO Box 1000
    Chester, PA 19022
    1-800-888-4213
    www.transunion.com
• Contact the other credit reporting agencies. Don't assume your problem has been fixed with the other credit bureaus once you have resolved it with one of them. It's important to contact each company directly to ensure the data is correct and updated across the board.
• Be persistent. In most cases, credit agencies have 30 days to conduct an investigation regarding any discrepancies in your report. But it's up to you to review the results of their investigation to make sure the problem has been resolved to your satisfaction and the information is correctly updated in your report. You also have the right to have the credit agency send an updated copy of your report to anyone who has had accessed your report in the past six months.
• Post an explanation. In some cases, you may not be able to resolve an issue or problem with either the creditor or the credit agency in question. In this case, it helps to file a short, concise statement of the problem (100 words or fewer) which will be posted on your credit report and remain available to everyone who has access to your report. (Sample statement may read "I have been the victim of identity theft. The outstanding charges on this card are not mine. I am attempting to resolve this issue as of August 2007.") Such personal statements will remain on your credit report for approximately two years, though you can request to have it removed sooner.