Personal Finance, Loans & Insurance

Reviewing Your Credit Report

The process for obtaining your credit report may sound a bit confusing, but the process is relatively quick and simple, especially if you’re obtaining free reports from the Annual Credit Report Request Service or purchasing reports from one of the three major credit reporting agencies.

After obtaining your reports, the next step is to review the information included within each of them. Make sure all of the information is up-to-date and accurate. If you notice errors in any of the three reports, it’s important to take the necessary steps to correct the error(s) as quickly as possible. If the error involves information provided by a creditor, begin by contacting the creditor directly. The creditor’s name and contact information should be listed on your credit report. If you’re unable to correct the error or initiate a dispute directly with the creditor, contact the credit reporting agency that provided the report with the incorrect information.

If you notice errors in the personal information section of your credit report, such as the spelling of your name, your date of birth, or address, contact the appropriate credit reporting agency directly to correct these errors.

Errors in your credit report can be disputed online, by calling the credit reporting agencies, or in writing. For the quickest response, dispute errors online. Visit each credit reporting agency’s web site and follow the appropriate links.

Make sure you stand up to them. Make sure they know you know what your talking about so they correct the problem.