Mortgage lenders generally check with three credit bureaus in order to evaluate your past payment history. Your goal in cleaning up your credit report should be to clean up each of the three bureaus. If you only work on one, this does not effect the reporting to the other bureaus.
The first step is to get a copy of your merged credit report, which shows all three of the major bureaus, Experian (formerly TRW), Equifax (formerly CBI), and Trans-Union. Most mortgage lenders will obtain data from all three of these bureaus in analyzing your credit history. The exception is that some portfolio lenders (usually adjustable rate lenders) may only review one.
Equifax
(800) 685-1111
Experian
(888) 397-3742
Trans-Union
(800) 916-8800
FREE CREDIT REPORT ROLLOUT BEGAN DECEMBER 1, 2004
The three nationwide consumer reporting companies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, began processing consumers requests for free annual credit reports. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and requires the nationwide credit bureaus to provide consumers, upon request, a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months. The complete rollout schedule is: December 1: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming; March 1, 2005: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wis consin; June 1, 2005: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas; September 1, 2005: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia, Puerto Rico, and all U.S. territories.
Correcting Credit
Be sure to ask for a letter by mail or fax that shows the creditor is correcting the negative information. You may need this letter for two reasons. First, they may not actually make the changes. With the letter, you can appeal directly to the credit bureau and they will make the correction. Second, if you are applying for a mortgage before the changes actually hit the credit bureau´s report, your lender will need this documentation.
If you have a charge off or collection account that shows as unpaid, don´t just send them a check and pay it off. Call the creditor on the phone, explain that you have the funds to pay the account in full, and calmly explain why it should not have been reported on your credit in the first place. |
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Then ask if they will provide you a letter deleting the account entirely from all credit bureaus if you pay off the account. Try to get them to fax it to you. As before, be sure to document all of your telephone contact and always keep a nice pleasant tone in your voice. In a large percentage of cases, this also works.
There are two efforts that must be made. First, call any creditors reporting a negative credit issue and ask them to remove the negative item. Make sure you keep a log of your conversation, noting the date, time, who you spoke to and what they said. Use a nice calm voice and do not get upset if your request is refused. Simply ask to speak to a supervisor. Repeat your request over and over. In a high percentage of cases, you will be successful.
Be sure to ask for a letter by mail or fax that shows the creditor is correcting the negative information. You may need this letter for two reasons. First, they may not actually make the changes. With the letter, you can appeal directly to the credit bureau and they will make the correction. Second, if you are applying for a mortgage before the changes actually hit the credit bureau´s report, your lender will need this documentation.
If you have a charge off or collection account that shows as unpaid, don´t just send them a check and pay it off. Call the creditor on the phone, explain that you have the funds to pay the account in full, and calmly explain why it should not have been reported on your credit in the first place. Then ask if they will provide you a letter deleting the account entirely from all credit bureaus if you pay off the account. Try to get them to fax it to you. As before, be sure to document all of your telephone contact and always keep a nice pleasant tone in your voice. In a large percentage of cases, this also works.
When Your Creditor Will Not Remove An Item:
There will be cases when the creditor does not agree to remove the negative credit item. If it is an item that is definitely not yours, call the credit bureau immediately (except for Equifax, who only responds by mail). When on the telephone, do not discuss any negative items that are accurate. Do not discuss any items that may be accurate in general but have some small error in detail that you can dispute by mail. Once you confirm any accuracy at all, you cannot dispute it later by mail.
For the remaining items, you need to dispute them by mail, writing directly to the credit bureaus. Write a letter to the appropriate bureau including your name, social security number, address, disputed accounts, and account numbers. You must sign the letter. Inform the bureau that you are disputing the data as it appears on your credit report.
In the event you know you are right and they are wrong, seek out the services of a good attorney.
This credit problems assistance firm may be another option: www.ficocreditrepair.com
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