Disputing Your Credit Report - How Can I Remove Negative Items From My Credit Report?

Disputing your credit report can be a time consuming process. Using the dispute process to remove negative items off of your credit report can be frustrating. Nevertheless, it is one of the best ways to get negative information off of your credit report. Starting with the basic dispute process is quite often the fastest and most effective way of disputing your credit report.

Now that you have your reports in front of you, make sure to check the personal information section and check that all entries are correct. Check your name, date of birth, present, and past address, current and past employer, and social security number. After you have verified your basic information, you should scan all three reports and circle or highlight any errors you find. 

Scroll down each report and check for any errors or discrepancies regarding accounts, or 

inquiries.

Here are some important red flags to look for:

When disputing your credit report look for discrepancies regarding accounts and inquiries:

Unauthorized users
Customers listed as deceased
Former spouse name
Negative accounts from your divorce
Negative co-signed accounts
Unauthorized inquires
Illegally re-aged collection accounts (which report an incorrect last date of activity)
Foreclosure attempts
Consumer credit counseling loan indications
When disputing your credit report look for Discrepancies regarding balances and accounts
Balances incorrect
Credit limits listed incorrectly
Duplicate collections
Accounts listed incorrectly
Credit lines not listed
Paid accounts still showing that you owe
Closed accounts shown open
Closed accounts should say closed by consumer and not closed by the creditor

When disputing your credit report look for Discrepancies regarding negative trade lines:

Late payments, 30, 90, and 120 days
Collections
Charge offs
Tax liens
Judgments
Debt consolidation marks
Bankruptcies not saying withdrawn or dismissed
Repossession indication when it should say voluntary surrendered

Now, before you start trying to repair your credit report, let me tell you what the law says about disputing your report.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act regulates how the credit bureaus handle your report under § 611. For procedures in cases of disputed accuracy [15 U.S.C. § 1681i], the law states that if you dispute the accuracy of any item or data in your reports, the credit bureau shall conduct a reasonable investigation within 30 days to determine if the challenged item is correct.

After the 30 days have expired, if the credit bureau has not verified or completed the investigation, the disputed item must be deleted. There you go, that is the law, and you will use it to start your dispute process.

When disputing your credit report, you can write your own dispute letter or use a standard dispute letter that you find on the internet. If you decide to write the letters, you must include your full name, date of birth, address, social security number, the items you're disputing, the reason you are disputing them and your signature at the bottom. Once you have your letter s are ready, send them to the following agencies:

Experian
NCAC PO BOX 9701
ALLEN TX, 75013

Equifax
PO BOX 105518 

ATLANTA GA, 30348

Trans Union
PO BOX 2000
CHESTER PA 19022

Mark Clayborne is a Certified Credit Consultant with ten years of experience assisting consumers with credit issues. If you liked this article, then please sign up to read the first chapter of The Credit eBook/HCRS and get a Free Restore your Credit E-class at http://www.hiddencreditrepairsecrets.com This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any Ezine, newsletter, blog, or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

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