- NOTE: Make sure that you have all three of your credit reports from all three Major Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) (Equifax – Experian – TransUnion) so that you are able to compare the reported information contained in each report.
Now that you have all three of your credit reports, it’s time to conduct a thorough review to make sure that your Credit Reports are accurate.
Your goal should be to review all three of your credit reports with the purpose of identifying any information that you determine to be inaccurate, misleading, incomplete, unverifiable, or untimely.
As you conduct your review make a list of the above information so that you know exactly what you are going to dispute at the end of your review.
REMEMBER: Your credit report must be 100% accurate, and if the CRA does not address your dispute by correcting, deleting, or verifying inaccurate information, then the CRA is in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
What You Should Look For:
Personal Identity and Biographical Information:
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Your Full Name
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Your Current Address
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Previous Address
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Your Social Security Number
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Date of Birth
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Phone Number
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Employment Information
NOTE: The information in this section is not a factor when it comes to your Credit Score, however, your Personal Identity and Biographical Information is still very important.
Trade Lines:
Trade lines are credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, lenders, and any other credit accounts that you have established. Make sure to review and confirm that all the details on your credit reports are accurate for each of your trade lines, including:
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Type of account
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Date Opened
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Credit Limit
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Loan amount
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Account balance
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Payment history
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Account Status
Credit Inquiries:
When you apply for credit of any kind, you give the creditor or the lender authorization (or permission) to request a copy of your credit report from one or more of the three Major Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs). When the creditor makes this request for your credit report, this triggers what is known as a ‘Credit Inquiry’ which then appears on your credit report under the ‘Credit Inquiries Section’ of your credit report.
Public Record and Collection Items
Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) also collect public record information from state and local county courts. This type of public record information may include bankruptcies, foreclosures, judgments, and other public court records. CRAs also collect information on overdue debt from collection agencies.
Fraudulent Items
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has received countless of complaints in reference to identity theft and fraud, and this has been the number one complaint for more than 14 years.
The FCRA requires, under federal law, that CRAs must remove fraudulent information within four (4) business days of receiving an Identity Theft Report from a consumer. The Identity Theft Report must include an identity theft affidavit accompanied by a police report in order for a consumer to be able to claim identity theft protections under the FCRA.
DO NOT CLAIM IDENTITY THEFT IF IT IS NOT TRUE. IF YOU DO, YOU COULD RUN THE RISK OF BEING PROSECUTED YOURSELF FOR FRAUD, WHICH YOU COULD RECEIVE A FINE AND POSSIBLE JAIL TIME.
Authorized User Credit Card Accounts
An Authorized User on a credit card is a person that has full credit card charging privileges without the legal obligation to repay for any credit card charges.
If you are an Authorized User on a Credit Card Holder’s credit card account, and the credit card appears on your credit report, you may be able to request that the credit card be removed from your credit report.
However, you may need to have the Credit Card Holder remove your name from the credit card completely before requesting that the credit card company remove the credit card from your credit report.
Duplicate Accounts:
Check for any Trade Lines that are being reported more than once, such as a duplicate credit card, duplicate auto loan, or duplicate mortgage.
This ‘DUPLICATION’ may reflect higher-open-credit-lines which may falsely show that you are carrying too much debt, which may then cause a negative impact on your Utilization Ratio, which in turn may lower your Credit Score.
Negative Information Past the Statute of Limitations:
Late Payments and Collection Accounts generally fall off of your credit report after seven years from the date of the original delinquency
Bankruptcy Chapter 7 can remain on your credit report for 10 years
Bankruptcy Chapter 13 can stay on your credit for 7 years
Judgments can remain on your credit report for 7 years OR until the statute of limitation is over
Foreclosures and Repossessions can stay on your credit report for 7 years
Hard Inquiries stay on your credit report for 2 years
Any item(s) that is past the time limitations should be identified, addressed, and disputed with the CRA, and a demand request should be submitted to the CRA to have the disputed item removed.
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