How to Clean up my Credit Report

One of the mistakes I made in my adult life is not keeping track of my credit report. I used to believe that for as long as I don’t go past due on any of my bills and not max out my credit, I shouldn’t worry about my credit history. That was until I got denied of a home loan because of an erroneous report on my credit history. I learned that it is not easy to clean up my credit report.

I had to go through months of sending paperwork and waiting for response, numerous phone calls, and tons of frustrations. In sharing how I managed to clean up my credit report, I hope that I would be able help a lot of people who are having the same problem and are not sure on how to go about it.

I started by requesting for free copies of my credit report from all credit bureaus. I figured that if I were to correct a report from one of the credit bureaus, might as make sure that all three credit bureaus have my correct information. This way, I get to clean up my credit report on all three credit bureaus with just one investigation.

I then called up the financial institution that provided the wrong information and requested for them to clean up my credit report. They asked me to send a copy of the report with the erroneous information and a written explanation of my dispute. I was advised to wait 30 days for the response. And if there is any discrepancy found, they will submit the correction to all three credit bureaus.

45 days has passed without receiving any communication from my creditor. When I called up again, they were claiming to have not received any written dispute from me. I resent the request to the financial institution via registered mail this time, to have something that will prove my request to clean up my credit report. At the same time, I sent the same request to all three credit bureaus, to cover all my bases.

Since so much time has already elapsed from my initial request, I did additional research to aide me on my next course of action, just in case the second letter I mailed will not work. I found out that the creditors only have 30 days upon receiving my written dispute, to prove that what they reported is accurate. Otherwise, I get to have the inaccurate report removed from my file. Another important piece of information I was able to find out is that I could demand the credit reporting agencies to provide a 100-character explanation right next to mine.

I was lucky enough to have my credit history corrected after I sent out the second request to my creditor. But it took me almost 3 months to clean up my credit report. It could be a lot harder to other people, so if you were to encounter the same problem with your credit history, it is best that you document all the steps that you have undertaken. Share the process that worked and save other people the suffering of losing their home because of an inaccurate credit history.

For more tips in how to clean up my credit report, please visit my site.