If you are applying for credit, or if you are applying for a job, an apartment, or insurance, you will probably be subject to a credit check. It makes sense to run your own credit check first, to make sure that your credit report is as favorable as possible. Here are the steps to follow to check your credit and correct any errors on your credit report.
If you’ve recently applied for credit, a lease, or a job and were subjected to a credit check, you may have received an adverse action notice. While it is bad news that someone decided your credit was imperfect, this can be a blessing in disguise. The adverse action notice gives you access to your credit report for free. Follow the instructions on the report and get whichever reports you are entitled to. Many creditors pull credit reports from all three bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. If yours did, you’ll have access to all three reports for free. If not, follow the instructions below for getting your free annual report from whichever of the bureaus the creditor did not check. It is important to check all three bureaus because each report is different. Sometimes misinformation appears in only one of the reports; other reports may leave out positive credit information.
If you haven’t received the mixed blessing of an adverse action notice, you still have a right to a free credit report. You are entitled to a free credit report:
You can get a copy of your free annual credit report by visiting annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228. Or, you may complete this form and mail the completed form to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
Do not contact the three nationwide credit reporting companies individually, they are providing free credit reports only through the methods listed above.
While you can get your credit report for free, the same cannot be said of your credit scores. If you would like to know what your credit score is, you will have to pay for a credit check that includes a report with your credit scores. You credit score is automatically calculated based only on data from your credit report, so improving your report will often increase your score. In any event, you should not pay for a credit check that includes a score unless you have already received all of the free reports to which you are entitled. Note that virtually every service that offers free credit reports other than the methods listed above will either charge you for your credit report, or give you the credit report only if you pay for some other service. These services may or may not be valuable, but you do not need to pay just to get your credit report.
Once you have your report, review it carefully. If you find inaccurate information, you can dispute it. The first step is to notify the bureau in question of the inaccuracy. In many cases you can do this online. The instructions will be included in the report, as will mailing instructions if you decide you would rather dispute the information by mail. Write a letter that says you dispute the item or items, circle them on a copy of the report and include it with the letter, and include copies of documents that support what you are saying.
Credit bureaus must investigate the items in question — usually within 30 days. They also must forward all the relevant data you provide about the inaccuracy to the company that reported the item. After a company receives notice of a dispute from the bureau, it must investigate, review the relevant information, and report the results back to the bureau. If the information provider finds the disputed information is inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide bureaus so they can correct the information in your file.
Once the investigation is complete, the bureaus must give you the results in writing and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change. This free report does not count as an annual free report. If an item is changed or deleted, the bureau cannot put the disputed information back in your file unless the information provider verifies that it is accurate and complete. You can also ask the bureaus to send a correction to anyone who ran a credit check on you in the last six months, and to employers who ran a credit check within the last two years.
If an investigation does not resolve your dispute with the bureau, you can ask that a statement of the dispute be included in your file and in future reports. You also can ask the bureau to provide your statement to anyone who received a copy of your report in the recent past. The bureaus are permitted to charge you for this service.
If your dispute through the bureaus did not result in a correction of the inaccuracy, you can contact the creditor directly and dispute the information.
Sometimes your report may leave out positive credit information. This is typically because the creditor does not have a reporting relationship with the bureaus. Creditors are not required to report information to the bureaus. Nevertheless, you can ask the bureau to add positive information to your report. This can help a lot if your credit score is low or non-existent because of “too few” accounts. Bureaus are not required to include unreported accounts, but they sometimes will if you ask. It can’t hurt, and it could help.
If the information in your report is accurate, only the passage of time will remove it from your report. A bureau can report most accurate negative information for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years. Information about an unpaid judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer. There is no time limit on reporting information about criminal convictions information reported in response to your application for a job that pays more than $75,000 a year, or information reported because you’ve applied for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance.