Page 44 - Book7E

The only man who sticks closer to you in adversity than a friend is a creditor.
—Author Unknown
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on your credit report is correct, the only thing you can do is wait for enough time to pass for it to be removed. However, if any of the nega- tive information on your credit report is incorrect, there is something
you can do about it.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act states that a credit bureau and the creditor provid- ing information to the credit bureau are required to correct wrong or incomplete information that appears on your credit report. If you find inaccurate information on one of your reports, try contacting the creditor directly first. The contact infor-
mation for each creditor appears on your credit report in the Creditor Contact section of the report. Most minor inaccuracies can be fixed over the telephone. If you can’t get the information corrected this way, then work with the credit bureaus to fix the problem.
If you find a mistake on your credit report, you have the right to have it corrected. You can do this by disputing the information with the credit bureau. Your credit report may come with a form or instruction sheet guiding you through the dispute process.
There are steps you should take to make sure your credit report contains the right information:
1 . Request a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus . Not everyone that you apply to for credit will request your credit report from all three of the major credit bureaus so it is important to do a regular check-up of your credit report from each credit bureau. Mistakes can appear on each report, and they may not be the same mistakes. You have to take responsibility for making sure that your credit report is accurate and up-to-date. If you notify one bureau of a mistake, do not assume that the mistake will be reported to the other two bureaus as well. You will have to check the reporting.
Disputing Items on Your Credit Report