Improve Your Credit Report: 2 Hacks To Find and Fix Errors for Free
Written by
Adam Palasciano
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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Your credit score indicates how likely it is you’re going to pay off debt, a key metric of your financial worthiness. Generally, the higher your credit score, the more access you’ll have to better credit cards and loans with more favorable interest rates. However, many consumers have mistakes on their credit reports that they weren’t even aware of.
According to a joint report from Consumer Reports and WorkMoney, 44% of consumers who recently checked their credit reports found at least one mistake in them. At the same time, 27% of consumers found serious account information errors, including accounts they did not recognize, late or missed payments or debts that could limit their financial opportunities and potentially damage their credit scores.
If you find errors on your credit reports, here are two hacks to find and fix errors on your credit report for free, according to CNBC and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Also find out the top mistake that can instantly tank your credit score by 100 points.
Periodically Check All Your Credit Reports
Periodically check your credit reports from all three of the major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) to ensure that you maintain a healthy credit score that reflects your correct financial situation.
Additionally, your credit report from one bureau may look different than one from another bureau, so it’s important to check all three. You can receive one free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus once per year by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com.
File a Report To Correct Your Credit Report
If you identify one or more errors on your credit reports, it’s important that you file a dispute as soon as possible. The FTC indicates that, by law, once you submit a report to the credit bureaus, they must investigate within 30 days.
The FTC will contact the entity that reported the possible mistake(s), provide it with any evidence you submitted to support your claim and direct it to investigate. If the entity finds that a mistake was indeed made, it must notify each of the three major credit bureaus so that your credit reports can be properly updated.
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