How to Eliminate Bad Credit Scores

Negative information on your credit report causes your score to plummet. Low credit scores impact everything from obtaining a mortgage to being hired for a new job. Three major companies handle your credit reports and scores: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Information may vary among companies. For this reason, obtain your free copy each year and check them closely for errors.

Each credit account on your report is called a trade line. These can be positive or negative, correct or erroneous. Trade lines that are in error and those that are negative bring down your score. They can likely be removed even those that are correct.

Instructions

1

Use your highlighter and mark each item that is either negative or erroneous. Repeat this step until all three credit reports have been marked.

2

Go through each trade line and note whether the account is in error. If it legitimately isn't your account, you have no obligation to pay it.

3

Closely examine the negative accounts, the ones that do legitimately belong to you. You will notice that a lot of information is being reported with each item. Each and every piece of information for that trade line must be correct under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Check the account open dates, account type, balance and recent activity. If even one of these items is wrong, the creditor must correct it or remove it.

4

Examine the personal information located on your credit reports. Often reports will contain different versions of your name. Information displaying on your credit report should be true and factual. Any version of your name not identical to that on your birth certificate is in error.

Check the section for previous addresses. These addresses may be tied to old accounts and should be removed. Often when a consumer writes the credit bureau asking for information on an account, the bureau will automatically verify an account simply because an address matches it. This does not provide proper documentation, and allows the bureau to avoid doing research on the account. Unless you live at multiple addresses, request that all others are invalid and that they be removed. You can call each bureau and request this. They will send you a letter verifying if they consented and removed the information.

5

Write letters to each creditor reporting erroneous or negative information. It is your right under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to request validation on these accounts. They are required to provide solid proof that you owe the debt. Do not give them any personal information in the letter other than identifying account information directly from your credit report. Make a copy of this letter for your records. Mail the letter certified mail return receipt requested. Keep the return receipt for your records. Send a letter for each and every account.

Once the return receipt is delivered to you, write a letter to each of the three credit bureaus. You may send one letter containing all of the accounts in question to each bureau. Send these letters certified mail, no return receipt.