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Advice on removing old items from credit reports - The Bills.com Blog
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Advice on removing old items from credit reports
Tuesday, Jan 1, 2008
Question: How do you go about getting items removed that are over the 7-year grace period?
Answer: By federal law, all debts must be removed from a credit report after seven years (US Code Title 15, §1681c) and bankruptcies after ten. Remember that just because a debt is removed from a credit report that does not mean the statute of limitations for receiving a judgment to collect the debt has passed. Federal credit report laws and a state statute of limitations laws are separate and independent from each other. The seven years starts running from the date the account was charged off by the creditor, which generally means seven and a half years from the date of last payment. Review your credit report carefully to make sure that the dates of last payment being reported on these accounts are correct.The law stating that derogatory items must be removed from credit reports after seven years is designed to help consumers recover from past credit mistakes and help them rebuild their credit rating. If you find charged-off accounts appearing on your credit report after seven years, you may want to dispute the incorrect listings with the credit bureaus.
Some creditors, especially debt purchasing firms, will report inaccurate charge-off dates to extend the amount of time an old account appears on your credit report. If you find any inaccurate information, you should dispute the credit report listing with the bureau in question. See the Federal Trade Commission document How to Dispute Credit Report Errors for more information.
The seven-year rule only applies to derogatory items, not to accounts that you are keeping current, or which you closed in good standing. As long as an account is not considered derogatory, it can remain on your credit report indefinitely. In fact, even accounts that are no longer reporting to the credit bureaus may continue to appear on your report as long as the account is not a derogatory item. It is common to see positive items that are more than 20 years old appearing on a credit report.
If an account is active and still open, it will remain on your credit report (including the entire history of positive payment history). No one can legally remove accurate and timely negative information from a credit report. The law allows you to ask for an investigation of information in your file that you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete. There is no charge for this.
Following up with the credit bureaus might be a time consuming proposition, depending on how many items you have that need to be removed. In order to get these items removed from your credit report you have two options:
1. Pay for the services of a credit repair firm. There are many firms that specialize in the area of credit repair.
Be careful about the firm that you choose and make sure that it is a reputable firm. You can check with the Better Business Bureau to learn about the performance of a particular company. You need to do proper research on the firm that you will eventually do business with. By law, credit repair organizations must give you a copy of the Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law before you sign a contract. They also must give you a written contract that spells out your rights and obligations. Read these documents before you sign anything. The law contains specific protections for you. For example, a credit repair company cannot:
-Make false claims about their services
-Charge you until they have completed the promised services
-Perform any services until they have your signature on a written contract, and
-Have completed a three-day waiting period.
Your contract must specify:
-The payment terms for services, including their total cost
-A detailed description of the services to be performed
-How long it will take to achieve the results
-Any guarantees they offer
-The company's name and business address
2. Do it yourself. The Federal Trade Commission provides extensive information and self help resources that are available at: Ftc.gov. You will first need to obtain a copy of your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus. Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually. They are providing free annual credit reports only through annualcreditreport.com, 1-877-322-8228, and Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies at the same time, or you can order your report from each of the companies one at a time.
Check your reports for the action items. Keep in mind all the bureaus now have provisions to dispute items online, but in most cases you will need a copy of the respective report and other information to do so. Once you are ready, you can contact each of the 3 bureaus at the contact information provided below:
Equifax
1-800-685-1111
Link to file dispute online - Equifax.com
Experian
1-888-397-3742
Link to file dispute online - Experian.com
Trans Union
1-800-916-8800
Link to file dispute online - TransUnion.com
Tell
-Make false claims about their services
-Charge you until they have completed the promised services
-Perform any services until they have your signature on a written contract, and
-Have completed a three-day waiting period.
Your contract must specify:
-The payment terms for services, including their total cost
-A detailed description of the services to be performed
-How long it will take to achieve the results
-Any guarantees they offer
-The company's name and business address
2. Do it yourself. The Federal Trade Commission provides extensive information and self help resources that are available at: Ftc.gov. You will first need to obtain a copy of your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus. Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually. They are providing free annual credit reports only through annualcreditreport.com, 1-877-322-8228, and Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies at the same time, or you can order your report from each of the companies one at a time.
Check your reports for the action items. Keep in mind all the bureaus now have provisions to dispute items online, but in most cases you will need a copy of the respective report and other information to do so. Once you are ready, you can contact each of the 3 bureaus at the contact information provided below:
Equifax
1-800-685-1111
Link to file dispute online - Equifax.com
Experian
1-888-397-3742
Link to file dispute online - Experian.com
Trans Union
1-800-916-8800
Link to file dispute online - TransUnion.com
Tell
the consumer reporting company, in writing, what information you think is inaccurate. Include copies (NOT originals) of documents that support your position. In addition to providing your complete name and address, your letter should clearly identify each item in your report you dispute, state the facts and explain why you dispute the information, and request that it be removed or corrected. You may want to enclose a copy of your report with the items in question circled. Your letter may look something like:
Date
Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip Code
Complaint Department
Name of Company
Address
City, State, Zip Code
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing to dispute the following information in my file. The items I dispute also are encircled on the attached copy of the report I received.
This item (identify item(s) disputed by name of source, such as creditors or tax court, and identify type of item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.) is (inaccurate or incomplete) because (describe what is inaccurate or incomplete and why). I am requesting that the item be deleted (or request another specific change) to correct the information.
Enclosed are copies of (use this sentence if applicable and describe any enclosed documentation, such as payment records, court documents) supporting my position. Please investigate this (these) matter(s) and (delete or correct) the disputed item(s) as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Your name
Enclosures: (List what you are enclosing)
Once you resolve the issue with the credit bureaus, tell the creditor or other information provider, in writing, that you dispute an item. Be sure to include copies (NOT originals) of documents that support your position. Many providers specify an address for disputes. If the provider reports the item to a consumer reporting company, it must include a notice of your dispute. And if you are correct, that is, if the information is found to be inaccurate, the information provider may not report it again.
There are also certain websites such as BCSalliance.com that provide kits for as little as $13.95, these kits have letter templates and tips to help you repair your credit all by yourself. You learn more about, credit, credit scoring and credit repair on Bills.com. I hope the information provided helps you Find. Learn. Save.
Best,
Bill
www.bills.com
Date
Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip Code
Complaint Department
Name of Company
Address
City, State, Zip Code
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing to dispute the following information in my file. The items I dispute also are encircled on the attached copy of the report I received.
This item (identify item(s) disputed by name of source, such as creditors or tax court, and identify type of item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.) is (inaccurate or incomplete) because (describe what is inaccurate or incomplete and why). I am requesting that the item be deleted (or request another specific change) to correct the information.
Enclosed are copies of (use this sentence if applicable and describe any enclosed documentation, such as payment records, court documents) supporting my position. Please investigate this (these) matter(s) and (delete or correct) the disputed item(s) as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Your name
Enclosures: (List what you are enclosing)
Once you resolve the issue with the credit bureaus, tell the creditor or other information provider, in writing, that you dispute an item. Be sure to include copies (NOT originals) of documents that support your position. Many providers specify an address for disputes. If the provider reports the item to a consumer reporting company, it must include a notice of your dispute. And if you are correct, that is, if the information is found to be inaccurate, the information provider may not report it again.
There are also certain websites such as BCSalliance.com that provide kits for as little as $13.95, these kits have letter templates and tips to help you repair your credit all by yourself. You learn more about, credit, credit scoring and credit repair on Bills.com. I hope the information provided helps you Find. Learn. Save.
Best,
Bill
www.bills.com
Also, make sure to get a free financial health check-up with Bills IQ!
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1. Posted by T. Cook on Wednesday 9th April 2008 07:52
I live abroad (Spain) and have requested my credit report twice by mail and have never received it. Do you know how I can get my credit report when living abroad?
2. Posted by Bill on Wednesday 9th April 2008 08:17
If you visit www.annualcreditreport.com you can see your credit report on the internet itself. This is a government mandated website which entitles you to one free report from each of the 3 credit bureaus each year.