How to Legally Remove Bad Credit

In a 2004 study by the U.S. Public Interest Group, almost 80 percent of all credit reports contained errors. What's more, almost 25 percent of them contained errors that could prevent a person from getting credit. Fortunately, the federal government passed the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in 1970 which lets you question the accuracy of your credit report. So, make sure your credit report is accurate before you apply for credit in the future.

Instructions

1

Get your credit reports from the three national bureaus, TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. The FCRA lets you get them annually at no charge. If you have asked for them within the past 12 months, you will pay a fee of about $10 for each one. To dispute the contents of a credit report, it must be a minimum of 90 days old.

2

Find mistakes in your credit report. For example, if a report has negative information that's more than seven years old, you have grounds for dispute. (If you have declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy, that information will be contained in your report for 10 years.) Also, it may contain negative information about another person, or a judgment against you that is false, grounds also that should be questioned.

3

Learn the various ways to dispute items on your credit report. The three bureaus have made it easy to file a dispute. You can either write them, telephone them or send them an email. If time is important to you, sending them an email is the fastest and more efficient method. Contact each credit bureau, as follows:

Equifax

P.O. Box 740256

Atlanta, GA 30374

800-685-1111

equifax.com

Experian

P.O. Box 2002

Allen, TX 75013

888-397-3742

experian.com

TransUnion LLC

P.O. Box 2000

Chester, PA 19022

800-888-4213

transunion.com

4

File a dispute if you find anything in error that might affect your credit score. That dispute must include your full name and address, as well as a statement that tells the bureau to look into the item of concern. You will need to enter you account number that appears on the credit report along with the specific item of concern and a brief statement why you feel it is incorrect. Finally, if you have documents that support your contention, include them. If you are emailing your dispute, mention that they are being mailed.