Credit Repair

How to Evaluate Your Credit

Have you ever received a copy of your credit report and felt overwhelmed with all the information? Have you ever been shocked to see an account that you paid still showing a balance? These situations are not uncommon. The three credit reporting agencies Transunion, Equifax, and Experian do not update each change a consumer makes to their credit file. This process would be expensive and time consuming. Which means you as the consumer must always keep track of your credit history. A good rule of thumb is to check your credit report twice a year. You can visit www.annualcreditreport.com to receive your free credit report. Federal law states you can check your credit report up to two times a year without any penalty or charge. The credit report you receive from annual credit report will not contain your credit score, just the accounts you have opened and your payment history. Review your report for errors, accounts that were not opened by you and your payment history. If you feel that an error has occurred, then follow the steps below:

1. Make note of the account name and account number. Be sure to write the date in which the account was opened and the date in which the account was last reported
2. Draft a dispute letter. If you are not sure how to write such a letter, you can download a generic letter from my website, www.LoansMadeBySteve.com
3. The dispute letter must contain the following items
   1. Account name
   2. Account number
   3. Date the account was opened
   4. Date of last account update
   5. The amount in which you are disputing
   6. An explanation why you are disputing the account
   7. Include any information that proves you have paid or did not open this account

A dispute letter must be written for each credit reporting agency in which the account you are disputing is being reported. The completed letters must be sent by certified mail. This will give you confirmation that each of the credit reporting agency have received your request for an account update. It will also give you away to track how long it takes for the information to be updated.

The process of updating incorrect information on your credit will take 30 days or more. Each credit reporting agency has 30 days from the receipt of your dispute letter to investigate the account you are disputing. After 30 days has passed, be sure to call each of the credit reporting agencies to make sure your account has been updated. If it has not been updated, then you will be notified of the reasons in which the account was not able to be updated. If the account was updated, you will receive an updated credit report reflecting the change. This process must be completed for every account you are disputing.