How to Dispute Your Equifax Credit Report
Are you tired of the bad credit reported on your credit report?
Your first step is to obtain a copy of your Equifax Credit Report and look for errors, inaccurate items, undesirable information, and/or information that is misleading. Damaging credit items include:
charge offs
legal proceedings, such as judgments
Chapter 7/Chapter 13 filings
foreclosure
repossessions - auto, boat, or other property
garnishments
delay of payments
settled accounts, collection - paid or settled for less
judgments/public records
A dispute letter to Equifax is the next step. You should draft a letter which outlines your reason for believing the reported information is inaccurate. Be sure to include your personal information in the letter.
The final step is to wait 30-45 days for the results.
Should I Do Anything Else?
If Equifax removes the negative entry, don't stop! Continue to clear up any remaining negative items. Lastly, be sure to clean up any inaccurate personal information, such as addresses and employment information.
When a dispute is resolved in your favor, Equifax will remove the disputed information. On occasion the credit bureau will update an item with newly acquired information which can be good or bad depending upon what the creditor reports to Equifax. For instance, Equifax may update a collection account with the most recent balance owed.
If you lose your Equifax dispute, the negative items will stay on your report possibly for the next 7-10 years. If this happens, you still have some options to continue the credit repair process.
Methods beyond a simple dispute are more advanced and require the help of a credit professional. Some techniques an attorney might use include negotiating directly with the creditor, payment for deletion, or debt validation.
It is important to understand that creditors are not required to report credit history to credit bureaus. Only credit bureaus must follow the law requiring the seven year limit. Therefore, an experienced attorney may be able to convince a creditor to remove a negative credit item. - 29866
Are you tired of the bad credit reported on your credit report?
Your first step is to obtain a copy of your Equifax Credit Report and look for errors, inaccurate items, undesirable information, and/or information that is misleading. Damaging credit items include:
charge offs
legal proceedings, such as judgments
Chapter 7/Chapter 13 filings
foreclosure
repossessions - auto, boat, or other property
garnishments
delay of payments
settled accounts, collection - paid or settled for less
judgments/public records
A dispute letter to Equifax is the next step. You should draft a letter which outlines your reason for believing the reported information is inaccurate. Be sure to include your personal information in the letter.
The final step is to wait 30-45 days for the results.
Should I Do Anything Else?
If Equifax removes the negative entry, don't stop! Continue to clear up any remaining negative items. Lastly, be sure to clean up any inaccurate personal information, such as addresses and employment information.
When a dispute is resolved in your favor, Equifax will remove the disputed information. On occasion the credit bureau will update an item with newly acquired information which can be good or bad depending upon what the creditor reports to Equifax. For instance, Equifax may update a collection account with the most recent balance owed.
If you lose your Equifax dispute, the negative items will stay on your report possibly for the next 7-10 years. If this happens, you still have some options to continue the credit repair process.
Methods beyond a simple dispute are more advanced and require the help of a credit professional. Some techniques an attorney might use include negotiating directly with the creditor, payment for deletion, or debt validation.
It is important to understand that creditors are not required to report credit history to credit bureaus. Only credit bureaus must follow the law requiring the seven year limit. Therefore, an experienced attorney may be able to convince a creditor to remove a negative credit item. - 29866
About the Author:
Discover how I raised my credit score from 582 to 745 in four months with the help of Lexington Law. Learn the truth about quickly and effectively deleting bad credit at www.creditforcouples.com.
