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Take Action! Correcting Credit Reports Your credit report Financial
is one of the most
Literacy
If you have reviewed your report and decided there is important tools Credit Bureaus No. 14
to work with
I will go to www.annualcredit report. information that needs to be corrected: when it comes to There are three private
national agencies that
com and get a copy of my credit Contact both the credit bureau and the organization managing your collect information about
report that provided the information to the bureau. Both finances. Your each consumer’s use of
credit score is a 3-digit number
I will make better use of my credit these parties are responsible for correcting inaccurate or that lenders use to predict how likely you are to credit.
incomplete information in your report under the Fair Credit
I will pay my bills on time. Reporting Act. repay a loan and make payments on time. The Experian®
Tell the credit bureau in writing what information you higher your score, the better your credit rating. TransUnion®
believe is inaccurate. The credit bureau is required to With a higher credit rating, lenders will be willing Equifax®
Requesting Your Credit Report investigate the item(s) in question. Your letter should: to lend you more money, at lower interest rates. Information is kept and
Online: get instant access at www. Clearly identify each item you dispute in your report. updated electronically in an
annualcreditreport.com. State the facts and explain why you dispute the Lenders aren’t the only ones interested in individual credit record. Your
by Phone: Call 1-877-322-8228 information. your credit rating: record is compared against
others to generate a credit
You will go through a simple Request a deletion or correction. Insurance companies use your score to score. The most common
verification process over the phone. Be sure to enclose: determine your rates credit score used by lenders
by Mail: Download the request form a copy of your report with the items in question circled. Landlords use it to decide if they want to rent is the FICO® score, which My Credit Score
to you
at https://www.annual creditreport. a copy of documents that support your position. (Don’t Utility companies (electric, gas, cable, ranges from 300–850. The
com/cra/order? phone (You send originals!!) telephone) use it to determine if you will pay higher the score, the better.
need an Adobe viewer to view the your bills, or if they should require a security You have three FICO scores,
one from each of the three
requested form.) Send your letter by certified mail or with a signature deposit first credit reporting agencies.
request so you know it has been received. Keep copies of
Print and complete the form to: your dispute letter and enclosures. Employers will check the credit history of new Your credit scores will
Annual Credit Report Request hires to determine if they are responsible change as the information in
Service Write to the creditor. Send the creditor the same enough to manage their own finances, and your record changes.
thus company assets.
P.O. Box 105281 information as the credit bureau, asking them to make the
change and submit it to the credit bureaus. This process
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281 may take 1-3 months.
Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery. Money Matters
8 A Good FICO® score is 700 or above
Disclaimer:
Learnovation, LLC’s mission is to empower people to 8 The average FICO® score is 725
improve awareness of their own financial situation.
®
©2017 Learnovation , LLC All Rights Reserved. This information is intended to serve as a general 8 A FICO® score below 600 is considered to be risky
www.learnovation.com guide of financial principles and strategies. It is not
intended to address individual financial issues, nor 8 Nearly eight in 10 credit reports contain a serious error or some sort of
should it be taken as legal, financial, or other advice. mistake, according to a survey by the U.S. Public Interest Research Groups
8 It always pays to check your credit history for errors.
