Clean Credit Report: Easily Raise Your Credit Score 100 Points
Your credit report contains information about where you work, live and how you pay your bills (On time or not). It also may show whether
you've been sued, arrested or have filed for bankruptcy with in the last 10 years. Companies called consumer reporting agencies (cra) or credit
bureaus compile and sell your credit report to businesses all over the world.
Many financial advisors suggest that you periodically review your credit report for inaccuracies or omissions. This could be especially
important if you're considering making a major purchase, such as buying a home. Checking in advance on the accuracy of information in your credit
file could speed the credit-granting process, clean credit is a must.
Because businesses use this information to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, and other purposes allowed by the
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), it's important that the information in your report is complete and accurate.
Whenever you apply for any type of credit or financing, a credit report is pulled from at least one of the three major credit bureaus. You
want a clean credit report to be pulled. While there are hundreds of smaller credit bureaus around the country, virtually every credit bureau is
affiliated with either Experian, Trans Union, or Equifax.
Getting Your Clean Credit Report
If you've been denied credit, insurance, or employment because of information supplied by a credit reporting agency, the FCRA says the company
you applied to must give you the agency`s name, address, and telephone number. If you contact the agency for a copy of your report within 60 days
of receiving a denial notice, the report is free. In addition, you're entitled to one free copy of your report a year.
If you simply want a copy of your report, call each credit bureau listed since more than one agency may have a file on you, some with
different information.
The three major national credit bureaus are:
Equifax, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241; (800) 685-1111.
Experian (formerly TRW), P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013; (888) EXPERIAN (397-3742).
Trans Union, P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022; (800) 916-8800.
Correcting Errors For Clean Credit.
To protect all your rights under the law and to keep your credit clean contact both the CRA and the information provider.
First to get clean credit reports, tell the credit reporting agency in writing what information you believe is inaccurate. Include copies
(please keep your originals) of documents that support your position. In addition to providing your complete name and address, your letter should
clearly identify each item in your report you dispute, state the facts and explain why you dispute the information, and request deletion or
correction. Always keep copies of your dispute letter.
They must reinvestigate the items in question, usually within 30 days, unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They also must forward all
relevant data you provide about the dispute to the information provider. After the information provider receives notice of a dispute from the
CRA, it must investigate, review all relevant information provided by the CRA, and report the results to the CRA. If the information provider
finds the disputed information to be inaccurate, it must notify all nationwide CRAs so they can correct this information in your file. Disputed
information that cannot be verified must be deleted from your file, then you will recieve a clean credit report, with that item removed.
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