How To Get Negative Things Off Your Credit Report?

The Definitive Guide to Removing Negative Items from Your Credit Report

This is very disadvantageous to a consumer since having negative items on the credit report dramatically reduces the credit score, making the consumer struggle to get credit facilities such as loans, mortgages, credit cards, and any other form of credit. Almost all derogatory marks such as late payments, collections accounts, bankruptcies, adverse judgments, and tax liens, among others, can take up to 7 years on your credit report depending on the type of negative item. Luckily, if the information furnished in the credit report contains errors or you think a bad record is being reported wrongly or unjustly, then there are ways of having these removed.

Review Your Credit Reports The initial procedure of the credit repair process is to check all the credit reports provided by the three main credit rating agencies, namely Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Federal law also entitles you to obtain at least one fully formatted report from each of the bureaus once every twelve months without cost. Thoroughly go through every part of your reports, be it inquiries, accounts, public records, etc, and check for any negative suggestions that you do not remember or are false. You should also ensure that other details that you provided during the application process like your name, address, and social security number are correct.

Dispute Errors with the Credit Bureaus In case you observe there are some errors or negative items on your credit reports that you would like to be taken out, you can file for disputes with the credit bureaus. The Fair Credit Reporting Act provides you the right to dispute both: the facts that you never agreed to be reported and the reporting manner of the negative item. Such could be an account reported as being in arrears when it is not, an account which you cleared with the creditor but still shows as being unpaid, among others. The idea is to prepare your disputes in writing and make sure that you enclose any supporting documents that you have that you send the dispute through the post and make sure that you provide a receipt that you sent it. It is usual for the bureaus to take up to thirty days to investigate the dispute and present a written decision.

Contact the Furnishers Directly The organization that supplies credit data that is detrimental to the credit bureau is commonly called the furnisher. Therefore, if there is a particular credit report entry that you want to be removed, then the other way to achieve this is by filing a dispute and a reinvestigation directly with the furnisher such as your credit card company, your mortgage servicing company, and the like, include the same details that you have provided for the credit bureau on why you are disputing that particular item and include copies of proof that should support your dispute and ask the furnisher.

Submit Consumer Statements If a complaint has been made and an unfavorable response has been received from the credit bureaus or the furnisher, the consumer is allowed to append a statement stating that he or she does not agree with the information that has been reported in the credit files. Of course, it is less effective than having the account removed from your credit file, but this statement will appear next to that bad item each time a lender runs your credit check. In no more than 100 words describe the circumstances that led to your decision to claim that this item is flawed and/or prejudicing your score.

Consider Legal Action There is a possibility of initiating legal proceedings against the credit bureaus and or furnishers for violating consumer credit protection laws, however, legal action should be the last resort. Some of the reasons you may need to sue include if the credit bureaus fail to conduct a proper investigation since you have a valid reason for disputing the credit information if a furnisher keeps on reporting negative information about you after they know they are wrong if the credit bureaus fail to remove items after a court order or after you have filed for bankruptcy among others. It is however good to note that you might require the services of an attorney.

Other Potential Solutions

• Goodwill Letters/ Moral and ethical grounds - goodwill letters can be considered as a way to directly address the furnisher, and kindly ask him/her to remove the negative item stating the moral and ethical reasons for doing so. These are most suitable where one has an inconsistent history of payment with the creditor but has a few missed or late payments only. Point out that the company has been your loyal customer for a long time, this was a one-time occurrence because of some extraordinary circumstances, and politely enquire if the firm could overlook it.
• Pay for Delete – Some collection agencies will negotiate for you and delete the collection account entry from your credit reports for a certain amount of money to be paid. Thus, pay-for-delete arrangements contradict the terms and conditions of the credit bureaus. It is advisable to request a written agreement to pay the collector if you compromise on a pay-for-delete before paying the collector.
• Late payments, collections, and most public records that have not been paid yet and turned over to a collection agency will drop off your credit report after the number of years specified under the Fair Credit Reporting Act from the first date of delinquency. Well, if for now, you have not been maintaining good financial habits, then do not worry because it will take you some time to regain your score. These may stay for up to ten years depending on the category of the entity that has gone bankrupt.

The most crucial aspect is being consistent with the credit report monitoring and engaging in the dispute of every single negative item that you believe is unjustifiably or inaccurately reported. Though very rare, no one can have a perfect credit history, but it is always good to have errors cleared so that when one wants credit, the process is made easier. It helps to know that it is not a rapid procedure and patients are needed in this stage as well. But if you can get the errors corrected now, it will go a long way in preparing you for future credit needs.

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