How to Remove Negative Credit Reporting That Is Older Than 7 Years

Without credit, major purchases such as homes, cars, recreational vehicles and even education are not possible to consumers who are not cash rich. However, at some point many consumers who have used credit have had a negative item reported. While there are many methods to having these items removed, there are some items like collections, judgments, bankruptcies and foreclosures that will remain for at least seven years. There is a process to removing those items that all consumers can follow.

Instructions

1

Acquire a copy of the credit report. If you have recently applied for credit, you may acquire a copy through the creditor or a paid service can be utilized. Federal law dictates that consumers are entitled to one free credit report every 12 months. This report is available through any of the three credit reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. A Social Security number and any other verifying information will be necessary to gain access to the report.

2

Look for any items listed as negative. A negative credit item could include late payments, collections, bankruptcies, foreclosures, defaults and judgments. Because of their negative effect on FICO scores, these are what you want to remove from a report.

3

Locate contact information for creditors that need to be contacted. On the credit report will be the contact information for each of the creditors. If the credit report is being viewed online, a prompt to dispute any items will appear on the Web page of the respective reporting agency. At this point, a dispute can be submitted online or in writing to the respective creditor.

4

Contact the organization that issued the credit as well as all the credit reporting agencies. In the correspondence, note that the negative item is more than seven years old and by law should be removed form the credit file. If you protest online, the credit reporting agencies will provide an appropriate option for information over seven years old. Make copies of all records and letters mailed to the creditor and the reporting agency.

5

A response should be received from the creditor and credit reporting agency within 30 days of the dispute. If the creditor can verify that the negative information is seven years old or older, it will be removed. Check the credit report to confirm the removal of the negative information.