Information on Credit Report Update

The answer to this question depends largely on the lender who is reporting the information to the credit bureaus. Many of the larger banks and finance companies report updated information to the credit bureaus every month. However, some smaller financiers only report on a quarterly basis. Depending on the lender, it could take as long as 90 days for updated account information to appear on your credit reports.

As for your credit score (usually meaning your FICO score), there is no guarantee that the actions you have taken will improve your credit score. There are simply too many factors that go into calculating a credit score to make a broad statement as to the effect of paying off your debts, though significantly reducing your debt-to-available credit ratio will likely have a positive affect your credit profile. Any changes to the credit score that the payoff will cause should be apparent as soon as the account information is updated with the credit bureaus. If you would like to learn more about credit and ways to improve your credit score, I encourage you to check out the Bills.com Credit Solutions and Resources page.

If you think that a particular account that you have resolved is inaccurate, you should consider contacting the creditor about the inaccurate reporting; the creditor should be willing to update the information if you point out the error. If that fails, you could also dispute the listing directly with the credit bureaus, which can speed up the reporting process; the credit bureaus should update an inaccurate listing if you provide proof that the account was paid. The credit report dispute process is important to understand because credit reports are notoriously inaccurate, and creditors are often very slow to report current and accurate account information.

Under the FCRA, all trade lines can be reported on each of the credit bureaus. However, the reporting agencies must update and keep accurate data in their credit files. If there is erroneous information (like a 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.

Each of the three credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) allow consumers to dispute credit report listing online. If there is something that you want added or removed, you should contact them directly:

You can access your credit file with each of the credit bureaus online through AnnualCreditReport.com where you can also request a free copy of your report from each company. If you do find inaccurate listings on your credit reports, the Federal Trade Commission offers a guide to disputing items in your credit profile, available at FTC Facts for Consumers: How to Dispute Credit Report Errors.

Like all information on Bills.com, we hope this page will help you Find. Learn. Save.

Best,

Bill

Bills.com