How To Review Your Credit Report in 3 Steps
Ok, how do I review my credit report when I barely understand it?
A New York Times article reported that credit reporting mistakes made to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2020 doubled from 2019. Heck, as I wrote this blog, I reviewed my credit report using the same steps outlined below. I found two errors on my credit report.
Errors on your credit report can lead to an employer not hiring you or a lender denying your mortgage or auto loan application.
Review Your Credit Report Using The Following Three Steps:
Get your credit reports from all three credit reporting bureaus-Experian, Equifax and Transunion.
Use the Check Review Checklist as a guide to review your credit report.
Dispute errors
1. GET YOUR CREDIT REPORTS
There are several ways to get credit reports for free:
As of this writing (updated 2024), you can get a free credit report weekly. (I used this website to get my credit reports. The process only took me 5 minutes. They asked me a few questions about past addresses and old credit information to verify my identity.)
Equifax: You can get six free credit reports annually for seven years due to a legal settlement.
Credit monitoring agencies may offer free credit reports.
2. REVIEW YOUR CREDIT REPORT
Use the checklist below as a guide to verify the information on your credit report. The sections are generally the same for credit reports, but the section's order may differ for each credit bureau.
PERSONAL INFORMATION SECTION
▢ Correct name
▢ Correct and complete current address and phone number
▢ Correct and complete prior addresses
▢ Correct Social Security Number
▢ Correct Birthdate
▢ Correct Marital Status and spouse (if remarried)
▢ Correct employment history
CONSUMER STATEMENT SECTION
▢ Check to make sure what you may have written is still needed.
▢ The listed statement/status is correct.
CREDIT ACCOUNT SECTION
Credit bureaus sometimes break down this section by credit types, such as:
Revolving: Accounts with credit limits and require minimum payments, like a credit card
Mortgage: Real estate loans that require monthly payments, like mortgages
Installment: Credit with fixed monthly payments like Student loans, or car loans
▢ All listed credit is credit YOU opened, no surprise accounts.
▢ No spousal premarital debt should be on your credit report.
▢ Your credit report's payment histories (late or on-time payments) are correct.
▢ Debts discharged in bankruptcy are labeled as “discharged in bankruptcy” or something similar, with a $0 balance on your credit report.
▢ Your creditor noted debts in dispute on your credit report.
▢ If applicable, your lender listed your voluntary surrender of a vehicle as voluntary and not as a repossession.
▢ There are no non-spouse accounts that list you as an authorized user.
▢ If applicable, accounts correctly listing you as a co-signer are on your credit report.
▢ If applicable, accounts correctly list you as an authorized or joint owner.
▢ Accounts are correctly listed as opened or closed on your credit report.
▢ The accounts correctly list who closed the account- you or your creditor- on your credit report.
▢ In most instances, no delinquent, unpaid accounts over seven years old are on your credit report.
Please Note:
Closed accounts generally stay on your credit report for up to 10 years.
Negative information like late payments or collections generally stays on your credit report for seven years.
PUBLIC RECORD
This section included information from local, state, and federal courts. Bankruptcies would be in this section.
▢ No bankruptcies older than ten years old should be in your report.
▢ In most cases, no tax liens or civil judgments should be in your credit report due to law changes made in April 2018
INQUIRY SECTION
Requests for your credit history are an inquiry. There are two types, Hard Inquiries that can impact your credit, and Soft inquiries typically do not affect your credit score
▢ The only inquiries you knew about are in your credit report.
COLLECTIONS SECTION
These are accounts with missed payments that went to a collections agency. This information typically stays on your credit report for up to 7 years. Check the laws; there have been several updates on collections.
▢ The information listed is correct.
3. DISPUTE ERRORS
For any item, you could NOT check off because of incorrect information, use the following steps below to dispute.
▢ Write down each error in detail.
▢ Report the errors online to Equifax, Experian, or Transunion. The process took me about 10 minutes to complete to go to the disputed website and click the submit button.
▢ Contact the company responsible for the error and report the error in writing. You can use this sample letter as a reference. Send information via Certified Mail with Return Receipt, so you have a record of when your letter is received.
▢ MAKE SURE you keep a record of all communications with the company. Write down the date, time, and representatives you spoke to about the dispute.
▢ The company should let the credit reporting agency know about your dispute.
▢ Wait about 45 days for an investigation and response from the credit bureau or reporting company about your dispute. Credit bureaus typically have 30 days after receiving your dispute to investigate.
▢ Continuously check your credit report for updates. It may take several months.
▢ If the error is due to identity theft, file a report online with Identitytheft.gov
▢ If you cannot resolve the problem, consider filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
TAKE THE FOLLOWING THREE STEPS TO REVIEW YOUR CREDIT REPORT
Get credit reports from all three agencies-Equifax, Experian, and Transunion.
Use the checklist as a guide to review your credit report errors.
Report incorrect information and Dispute Errors
NEXT STEPS
You don’t have to tackle this all at once. Take one week to gather your reports, another week to review section by section, and another to dispute, if needed.
Review your credit report annually. Don’t leave it up to your memory; you got a million things to do. Set a recurring reminder on your online calendar, the 1st day of the month following your birthday, to review your credit report.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO REVIEW YOUR CREDIT REPORT:
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Dispute Website
Annual Free Credit Report Website
