To fix your credit score means to fix accounts in your credit report that are bringing your credit score down. Your credit score is entirely based on the information in your credit report. For consumers with a poor credit score that low score is a result of data or account information in their credit report. Repair the bad credit accounts and/or add additional accounts with a good payment history and your credit score will improve.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act or FCRA, both the credit reporting agency and the credit information provider are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. Any consumer can take advantage of their rights under this law and contact the credit reporting agency and the information provider to fix their credit score related entries.
Consumers can first obtain a copy of their credit report to see the accounts to repair in order to fix the credit score. If a consumer finds there is inaccurate or out of date information regarding their accounts, payments or other data in the credit report it is time to do some work. Contact the credit reporting agency, in writing, about the information that is believed to be inaccurate. Make sure to provide all the information about yourself including your complete name, address and contact information in the credit dispute letter.
The credit dispute letter should clearly identify each item in your report you dispute, state the facts and explain why you dispute the information, and request that it be removed or corrected. You may want to enclose a copy of your credit report with the items in question identified clearly. Include copies of documents that support your position regarding the problem accounts. In some cases, there may be questions about the nature of the dispute but as long as you believe there is an inaccuracy, you have the right to request an investigation – even if you are wrong.
Under the FCRA law, consumer reporting agencies must investigate the items that you dispute in your credit report. The investigation usually has to be accomplished within 30 days, unless the credit reporting agency believes the dispute being made is frivolous. The credit reporting agency will forward all the relevant data you provide about the inaccuracy to the organization that provided the information, the credit information provider.
After the information provider receives notice of a dispute from the consumer reporting agency, it must investigate and review the relevant information about the account, and report the results back to the consumer reporting agency. If the information provider finds the disputed information is inaccurate, it must notify all credit reporting agency with the accurate data so the credit report file is corrected whcih in turn will fix the credit score.
Unfortunately, when negative information in your credit report is accurate, only the time can make sure the data is removed. A credit reporting agency can report most accurate negative information for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years in your credit report. Information about an unpaid judgment against you can be remain in your credit report for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs in your state runs out, whichever is longer.
Fortunately, many credit providers fail to investigate the matter and verify the information. In these cases the credit reporting agency is forced to remove the data – all of the information regarding the account that is in dispute. Yippee.
See sample credit report dispute letter.
Learn about credit dispute online.
See more on how to improve credit score.