6 Steps to Help Keep Credit Reports Healthy

#1 Get Copies of your Credit Reports

This is something that you should be doing at least once a year but few people do. Visit AnnualCreditReport.com to get copies of your credit report from the three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, Transunion). This site will provide you with free copies once of year of your reports from each credit reporting agency.

#2 Write a letter to the Credit Reporting Agencies about Errors

When you locate mistakes you want to take action on them right away. Write a letter stating the error you've found, gather up the evidence and paper work you have to prove that it's an error and send copies of everything to the credit bureaus. Not taking action on a credit report error can cause big issues down the road.

#3 Hold onto copies of all documents

When sending a credit report dispute never include original documents. Be sure to keep copies of everything, and send your letters via registered mail. While you do need to send in the correct information to support you claim, without a copy for yourself it could backfire.

#4 Contact Creditors if it's worth while

Most data is handled by computers and those that do data input these days. There is a chance that someone accidentally enters an incorrect SSN meaning something gets tacked to your credit that shouldn't be. When you contact the creditor they are required to correct the situation on their end, and in turn report that information to the reporting agencies. This will also support the claim of the error.

#5 Know what happens behind the scenes of a Credit Report Dispute

After a credit bureau receives your dispute credit report error, they have approximately 30 days to investigate. The credit bureaus will attempt to prove the item to be not an error, if this cannot be done then the item should be deleted. Understanding how the credit report dispute process works will help with patience while you wait, and support arguments if need be.

#6 Seek Legal assistance if needed

This step is dependent on how serious or how comfortable you are with the dispute credit report process. If you have some serious items you wish to challenge, or just want some professional help consider looking for a credit repair lawyer to help draft your letters and communicate your disputes to the credit reporting agencies.

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