Credit Report Disputing Tips

Fixing your credit report can be pretty easy if you know what to do. Before we get into fixing your credit report, let's talk about what your credit report is, how to obtain it, and then we'll talk about fixing erroneous information in it, and using it to raise your current credit score.

The first thing you need to know about credit reports is that it is a compilation of data about your financial history. It includes personal data identifying you as a consumer, Accounts that you have opened or currently have open, Your payment history on these accounts (both open and closed), The age of these accounts (how long you had them for), and anything that the financial institution had to say about you while you had a particular account open with them (this is in the form of your payment history and whether the account was closed in good standing or if it was sent to collections.

All of this information is pulled together and put into a file at one of three major credit reporting Agencies. Financial institutions will contact one or more of these credit reporting agencies to pull this information about you when you apply for a certain type of account with them. The three credit reporting agencies are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. They deal with lines of credit payment histories, and outstanding money that you owe on Credit.

Hypothetically, let us say that you apply for a credit card with a local bank. The first thing that bank will do is pull a copy of your credit report from one or more of the three credit reporting agencies. If you've had a credit card in the past that you made late payments on, that information will be on your credit report and the new bank will take that information into consideration when reviewing your application.

If you still owe money on the first credit card, and it was went unpaid, the new bank may deny issuing you a new credit card until you pay off the first one. To fix this, contact whatever credit reporting agency the new bank used to pull your report.

Find out off of that report what bank you still owe the money to. Get into contact with that bank and pay them. Make sure to get a receipt that the debt was paid. Turn around and give a copy of this receipt to the credit reporting agency so they know the debit is settled.

Now the debt is listed as paid on your credit report, but it is still on your credit report. Repeat until all debt is paid. Re-apply for any type of credit you seek.