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Advice on credit report cleanup - The Bills.com Blog
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Advice on credit report cleanup
Thursday, Nov 8, 2007
Question: I am trying to clean up my credit report. I have obtained a copy of my credit report and there are several items listed that have been paid off in the last few years.I know that items stay on your credit report for up to 7 yrs. Can these items be taken off the credit report if paid in full by request prior to 7 yrs? If so, can you recommend a site that gives proper examples of request letter to send? Thank you so much for any help that you can suggest.
Answer: Federal law (US Code Title 15, §1681c) controls the behavior of credit reporting agencies. This law is known as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Under FCRA §605 (a) and (b), an account in collection will appear on a consumer's credit report for 7.5 years. The clock starts approximately 180 days after the date of first delinquency on the account. To learn when an account will be removed by the credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian and others), add 7.5 years to the date of first delinquency. Subsequent activity, such as resolving the debt, is irrelevant to the seven-year
rule. However, if the debt is a tax lien, that can appear for seven years from the date of payment. A bankruptcy will appear for ten years from the date of the final order. Delinquent federal student loans can be reported indefinitely, i.e., for as long as they are delinquent.
The credit reporting agencies must update and keep accurate data in their credit files. If there is erroneous information (like your collection account, that you believe is inaccurate), you must notify them (typically through a certified letter) and then wait one reporting cycle (90 days) for the errors to be removed.
There are three major credit reporting agencies that offer credit reports. If there is something that you want added
The credit reporting agencies must update and keep accurate data in their credit files. If there is erroneous information (like your collection account, that you believe is inaccurate), you must notify them (typically through a certified letter) and then wait one reporting cycle (90 days) for the errors to be removed.
There are three major credit reporting agencies that offer credit reports. If there is something that you want added
or removed, you should contact them directly:
Equifax
1-800-685-1111
www.equifax.com
Experian
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com
Trans Union
1-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com
Your credit rating is calculated based on several variables, including: your payment history (do you have any late payments, charge-offs, etc.), the amount and type of debt that you owe, if you have maxed out any of your trade lines, and then several other secondary factors like the length of your credit history and how many recent inquiries have been made to look at your credit history.
If you would like more information, please visit our credit resource page at: http://www.bills.com/credit-report-errors-articlebills/
We hope that this helped you to Find, Learn, and Save!
Best,
Bill
www.bills.com
Equifax
1-800-685-1111
www.equifax.com
Experian
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com
Trans Union
1-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com
Your credit rating is calculated based on several variables, including: your payment history (do you have any late payments, charge-offs, etc.), the amount and type of debt that you owe, if you have maxed out any of your trade lines, and then several other secondary factors like the length of your credit history and how many recent inquiries have been made to look at your credit history.
If you would like more information, please visit our credit resource page at: http://www.bills.com/credit-report-errors-articlebills/
We hope that this helped you to Find, Learn, and Save!
Best,
Bill
www.bills.com
Also, make sure to get a free financial health check-up with Bills IQ!
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