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Financial security - in your own hands.
Sometimes, your credit report may show negative entries that have been reported in error. If you
believe that information on your credit report is incorrect, it is your responsibility to contact that credit
agency and dispute the information. Most likely, you will have to submit a written dispute, though you
can also go online to do so (each website will have their own guide to this). It is the responsibility of the
credit bureau and the company that reported the information to verify it, and usually this process can
take several weeks.
Because of this time lapse, it is important to be as aware of your credit report as you can be. Few
things are as frustrating as going in to get a car loan and being surprised with a denial. Not only is it
embarrassing, but it may be months before you get the item corrected, further delaying your loan.
Each credit bureau is also required to allow you to add a small statement to your credit report. You can
use this section to note an existing dispute, or explain a negative item on the report. This is a step
many customers don’t take, and depending on the lender it may add more credence to your dispute
while it is pending.
Once you have placed your dispute, make sure you check up on its status regularly. The credit agencies
will have their own guidelines as to how long the item can stay in dispute without an answer from the
company before it is stricken from their records. Some creditors won’t even bother to acknowledge the
dispute in some cases – if it’s a minor incident or something they don’t keep accurate records on, they
will simply wait for the credit agency to remove it themselves instead of taking the time to deal with it.
Because of this, it’s important you at least know how long it will take the dispute to “time out” and be
removed.
Contacting the Credit Bureaus
Experian 1-888-397-3742 or www.experian.com
Transunion 1-800-916-8800 or www.transunion.com
Equifax 1-800-685-1111 or www.equifax.com
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