Do you know what it takes to corroborate your credit report faults? At Premier Consumer, we are pleased in offering you all the information you need. Before telling you the steps to take if your credit report has faults, it is necessary to be clear about what are considered errors in credit reports, and what might be the consequences of such errors.
In general terms, errors in Credit Reports are all the inaccuracies and discrepancies in your personal data, credit history and implications of your social behavior. These imply incorrect name, date of birth, address or social security number; poor reflection of how you pay your debts and bills; any data related to your criminal clearance (if you have been or not subjected to subpoenas, demands and/or arrests), and other data related to your credit history (statement of bankruptcy or being subjected to welfare).
“Your Credit Report is, more than a mere requirement, a powerful tool that can open to you many doors in the financial and economic aspects to organize your life, hence the importance of precision and accuracy of the information therein contained”
One or more errors in your credit report can directly influence the decision of financial institutions at the time of granting credits or loans real property purchase or lease, interfering with the approval of services such as insurance coverage, and even hinder in obtaining a job.
Similarly, errors in your Credit Report may expose you to identity theft or fraud that can make you subjected to charges or unauthorized accounts made on your name.
In any case, to know or see if there are any errors on your Credit Report, you need to have it on hand in the first place. In North America, the Fair Credit Reporting Act provides that consumers reporting companies must, upon request, to extend a free annual copy of your credit report.
To facilitate your request, there is the website annualcreditreport.com. You can also call 1-877-322-8228, or fill out the form called Annual Credit Report Request Form and send it to the following address:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
Are there errors on my Credit Report?
2 Steps to correct errors on your credit report
1) Report the error
If you live in the United States and your Credit Report shows errors or discrepancies, the first thing to do is notify in written to the Credit Reporting Agencies responsible (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax). To issue such notification, you need to make a detailed letter of challenge which point the type of error in your credit report, correction and copies of backups that certify the correction. Similarly, the notification must request removal of erroneous or conflicting data. Be sure to point out errors in the copy of your report attached to the letter of objection.
Such notice must contain accurate personal information such as current address, and must be sent by certified mail with return receipt to the Service Annual Credit Report Request.
2) Wait for the verdict
After the notification, the reporting agency that handles your Credit Report is obliged to investigate and respond to within 30 days. It is also obliged to notify the company that issued your Credit Report. Consequently, such company must review and verify your data, and make the knowledge of your claim to the other two Reporting Agency companies.
By the end of those 30 days, you will receive a response to your claim that includes the corrected copy of your credit report, which may or may not have been processed according to your observations. Here it is the importance of keeping a copy of both, your application correction (with all the sent supports), and the verdict of the Agency sent to the company that attends your case.
Additionally, you also have the option of asking to the reporting company to retain your complaint on the record, and provide it to any entity requesting your credit report. This service, however, usually have an additional cost.
In any case, if the company acknowledges that it has given incorrect or inaccurate information in your credit report, it will be obliged to remove such information from its database, and it is obliged to no longer provide it to any entities that request your Credit Report. It is also obliged to send, to your express request, the corrected report to those organizations or employers who have requested your Credit Report in the last two years.
The company also must consign the results of its investigation to the Agencies Records, and if your claim proceeds, it must be included along with the new corrected data.
Your Credit Report is, more than a mere requirement, a powerful tool that can open to you many doors in the financial and economic aspects to organize your life, hence the importance of precision and accuracy of the information therein contained.
