Equifax (800)685-1111
www.equifax.com PO Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374

Experian (888-397-3742)
www.experian.com
Po BOX 2002
Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion (800)916-8800
www.transunion.com
2 Baldwin Pl
Chester, PA 19022

Correcting Inaccuracies
Both the consumer reporting agency as well as the information provider (the person, or establishment that provides information about you to a consumer reporting agency) are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. To remedy mistakes on your credit report the consumer reporting agency must be contacted immediately. Below is the process

The credit reporting agency must be informed, in writing what information you believe to be inaccurate. Include any copies (NOT originals) of documents that prove your position. This letter must contain your complete name and address and must clearly identify each item from your credit report that you are disputing. Provide facts and clarify why you are disputing the credit information, and request that it be removed or corrected. You may want to enclose a copy of your report with the items in question circled. South Bay Mortgage & capital, Inc. has provided a template to simplify the process. Send the letter and all documents by certified mail, “return receipt requested.” Also, retain copies of the package so you have items to reference to.

Consumer reporting agencies usually investigate serious disputes within a 30 day time span. They are also required to forward all of the pertinent data to the establishment that provided the information to begin with. Once the information provider receives notice of a dispute from the consumer reporting agency, it must investigate and evaluate the information provided, and report the outcome back to the consumer reporting agency. If the information provider finds the disputed information is in fact incorrect Transunion, Experian, and Equifax will all be contacted and corrections will be made.

Once the investigation has concluded, the consumer reporting agency will forward you the results in writing. If changes were made a free copy of your credit report will be sent to you as well as a written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the information provider.

The consumer reporting agency is also capable of sending notices of corrections made to those that pulled your credit within the last six months, however, you must request this service. You may also request a corrected copy of your credit report be sent to anyone that received a copy within the last two years for employment purposes.

If an investigation doesn’t resolve your dispute with the consumer reporting agency, you may request that a statement of the dispute be included in your file for future reports. Also, a request can be made so that the consumer reporting agency provides statements to anyone who pulled y our credit in recent months. However, a fee will be involved for these services.

Adding Accounts to Your File
Credit files do not necessarily reflect all credit accounts. While the majority of national department store and major credit card accounts will be included in your file, not all creditors supply data to consumer reporting agencies. For instance, many utility companies, gasoline card companies, as well as credit unions often times do not report. If you have been denied credit due to “insufficient credit” or “no credit” and you have accounts that did not appear on your credit report you may ask the consumer reporting agencies to add these accounts to future reports. However, a fee will be charged for these services. Also, realize that if these creditors do not report to the consumer reporting agency on a regular basis, the added items will not be updated in your credit file.

Time Periods
When negative information in your report has been confirmed, only time is the only way it will be removed. A consumer reporting agency can report on derogatory accounts for up to seven years and bankruptcy for up to 10 years. Information on unpaid judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer. There is no time limit on reporting information regarding: data reported in response to an application for a profession that pays more than $75,000 a year, criminal convictions, and information reported because you’ve applied for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance. The seven year reporting period begins form the date that the incident occurred.