Credit report bugs: How to fix it?

Major credit report bureaus which are three and we all aware of it may have minor different formats, but all contain similar facts. Mainly your basic identifying information is: name, address, Social Security number. Another section includes "trade lines", a listing of your credit accounts, be they credit cards, car loans or mortgages, along with the credit limit, balance and payment history of each. The reports also show public records and collection, which include any actions taken against you in court and any overdue debts taken over by collection agencies. Check out all these sections carefully for accuracy.

If you find any errors, you might have the right to dispute them, free of cost, by phone, mail or e-mail, with the credit bureaus. If the mistake occurs on all three reports, you must contact all three agencies.

When you point out the problem, the credit reporting agency will open an investigation and contact the credit card company or other lender that provided the statements you dispute. The source must then check its records to verify the information and respond to the credit agency within 30 days about whether they can test item is correct or not.

If you dispute an item and the investigation finds against your claim, there's no appeal, so the information will remain, but you can write out a consumer statement and send it to each of the credit bureaus, which will add it to your credit reports. This will ensure that your side of the story is available to potential lenders. If, on the other hand, the lender agrees with your correction, the Federal Trade Commission requires the lender to amend the error at all the bureaus to which a reports. However, you should check all the reports to make sure all the fixes have been made correctly.

If a credit card you never applied for appears on your report, you may be the victim of identity theft. Contact the fraud department of one of the credit bureaus and request a fraud alert on your credit reports. You have to call only one bureau it will notify the other two. This tells lenders to contact you before issuing new credit or making changes, such as switching mailing addresses, to your current accounts.