How to Clear My Credit in South Carolina

When you have negative information on your credit report, it can hinder you from getting a home, a car and even employment. The good news is that with a lot of diligence and determination, a bad credit report can be turned into a good one. As you attempt to clear your credit in South Carolina, it is important that you pay attention to the state's statute of limitations that govern the time-frame for creditors to take legal action against you. Otherwise, your attempt to fix your credit may do more harm than good.

Instructions

1

Order a copy of your credit report from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. These are the three major consumer credit report bureaus. You are allowed one free report each year from the bureaus or from the Annual Credit Report website. You must pay for additional copies. Be sure to get a report from each bureau, since the information on your report may be different for each agency.

2

Examine your credit reports thoroughly. Document all accounts that have a "Date of Last Activity" that is greater than seven years. These accounts are outdated and need to be removed from your credit report. Note than bankruptcies can be reported for up to ten years instead of seven.

3

Submit a dispute to the credit bureaus to dispute all of the outdated accounts. In the dispute, mention the report number that is on your credit report, the account that you are disputing and the reason you are disputing it. The quickest way to submit a dispute is through the credit bureau's online dispute form. However, you can also mail or fax your dispute. The credit bureau is required to investigate and resolve your dispute within 30 days.

4

Contact creditors for accounts that are not old enough to be removed from your credit report but have not yet reached the state's statute of limitation. In South Carolina, the statute of limitations on "Breach of Contract" debt is three years from the date of last activity. This includes any credit that requires you to sign a contract, such as credit cards and loans. The limitation for judgments is ten years from the date of last activity.

5

Advise the creditor that you would like to set up payment arrangements to clear up the debt. Only do this if you fully intend to pay off the debt. Under South Carolina statute of limitations, if you make a partial payment on the debt or acknowledge the debt in writing, you "reset" the statute of limitations. In other words, the date of last activity will be reset, and the three- or ten-year period starts all over again.