Negative Entries on Your Credit Report Can Be Challenged
How to Dispute Your Equifax Credit Report
Would you like to remove those nagging negative items from your credit report?
To begin with, you will need to request a copy of your Equifax credit report so you can review its contents for negative and inaccurate entries. Entries that damage your credit include:
third party actions
legal proceedings, such as judgments
Chapter 7/Chapter 13 filings
home foreclosures
repossessions - auto, boat, or other property
garnishments
late payments
collections, paid collections, settled accounts
public records
Next, you will need to draft a dispute letter to Equifax. Be sure to include your personal information and to explain the reason for the dispute, including why you feel the negative information listed is erroneous.
Lastly, Equifax has 30 days to investigate and verify your claim and must then report its findings back to you. It will likely take 30-45 days to obtain Equifax's decision.
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.
Equifax will delete any negative item that cannot be verified. Be aware that Equifax, when notified by creditors, will update items on your credit report. Depending on what the creditors report, this could be bad or good information. For example, Equifax might revise your credit report to show additional late payments.
Expect the negative item to remain on your credit report for 7-10 years if you lose your dispute with Equifax. However, don't lose heart! There are other options available to continue trying to rebuild your credit.
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.
Keep in mind that credit reporting by a creditor is voluntary, while the seven year limit is imposed only on credit bureaus. As such, a convincing attorney can often persuade a creditor to erase a negative item from your credit report.
Would you like to remove those nagging negative items from your credit report?
To begin with, you will need to request a copy of your Equifax credit report so you can review its contents for negative and inaccurate entries. Entries that damage your credit include:
third party actions
legal proceedings, such as judgments
Chapter 7/Chapter 13 filings
home foreclosures
repossessions - auto, boat, or other property
garnishments
late payments
collections, paid collections, settled accounts
public records
Next, you will need to draft a dispute letter to Equifax. Be sure to include your personal information and to explain the reason for the dispute, including why you feel the negative information listed is erroneous.
Lastly, Equifax has 30 days to investigate and verify your claim and must then report its findings back to you. It will likely take 30-45 days to obtain Equifax's decision.
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.
Equifax will delete any negative item that cannot be verified. Be aware that Equifax, when notified by creditors, will update items on your credit report. Depending on what the creditors report, this could be bad or good information. For example, Equifax might revise your credit report to show additional late payments.
Expect the negative item to remain on your credit report for 7-10 years if you lose your dispute with Equifax. However, don't lose heart! There are other options available to continue trying to rebuild your credit.
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.
Keep in mind that credit reporting by a creditor is voluntary, while the seven year limit is imposed only on credit bureaus. As such, a convincing attorney can often persuade a creditor to erase a negative item from your credit report.
About the Author:
We raised our credit scores from the upper 500 range to 745 and 763 in under six months and got approved for our dream home. See proof of our credit repair success at www.creditforcouples.com and get the real truth about lexingtonlaw.com .
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