Your credit means everything. It’s how you secure a loan to buy a car. It’s how you qualify for a mortgage and it could even dictate whether you get a job or an apartment that you want to rent. Thus, you definitely want to know what’s on your credit report and you should check it on a regular basis. But what if you find an inaccuracy on the report? What should you do then?
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), credit reporting agencies have certain responsibilities to you — and they must take action to fix incomplete or inaccurate info on your report. If you find inaccuracies, contact the credit reporting agency immediately.
Do this by sending a message in writing to the credit reporting agency about the inaccuracies. Also, forward relevant information that shows why the inaccuracies are wrong. After you do this, the credit reporting agency will send the data you’ve provided to the source of the information. The information provider must then investigate the issue and notify the credit reporting agency to correct the problem depending on what they find. Following the completed investigation, the CRA will need to provide written results along with a free copy of the report to you when a change to the report has happened.
This is only the most basic aspect of fixing a problem with your credit report. Sometimes, issues are a lot more complicated than this and they require legal intervention. If you’re struggling to clear up issues relating to your credit report, reach out for legal guidance at your earliest convenience.
