Credit Report Errors and Correcting Them

Despite the measures that credit bureaus take to ensure the accuracy of the free credit report, errors are sometimes inevitable. These errors can be minor misinformation or major inaccuracies. Whatever the case, errors on a credit report can affect an individual’s ability to borrow money, apply for credit, and affect their overall financial life. So what can you do if you discover that there are certain mistakes on your free credit check?

It is important to realize that the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) states that the information provider, as well as the consumer reporting agency is responsible for correcting any mistakes on your credit history. To correct errors found on the credit report for free, it is important to contact the information provider and the reporting agency and state the problem.  Most credit report monitoring services provide you an option to dispute errors online.

The steps involved in disputing errors include informing the consumer reporting agency about the inaccurate information in writing. These agencies will typically investigate within 30 days unless they think your dispute is a gag. After they established that some errors did occur, they will forward the data you provided to the information provider. They will once again review your case and send the results back to the credit reporting agency. The information provider also needs to notify the three major credit bureaus about the error so that appropriate measures can be taken.

There are cases when the information provider or the consumer reporting agency refuses to alter the information you dispute. In this case, it is possible to ask for a statement of your dispute to be included in future credit reports. You can also ask the credit bureaus to provide a copy of the dispute to a party requesting your credit report. Credit bureaus will ask for a fee for this service.

Whether the error is small or large, it is important to fix these items to avoid any negative impact to your credit health. Most negative information stays on your report for seven years and large cases, such as bankruptcy filings, will be included for up to ten years.