Negative Entries on Your Credit Report Can Be Challenged
Your Equifax Credit Report Can Be Challenged
Anxious to remove bad credit from your Equifax credit report?
To begin with, you will need to request a copy of your Equifax credit report so you can review its contents for negative and inaccurate entries. Entries that damage your credit include:
third party actions
court decisions, such as judgments
Chapter 7/Chapter 13 filings
bank-initiated foreclosure proceedings
repossessions – auto, boat, or other property
payroll garnishment
payment inconsistencies
collections, paid collections, settled accounts
public records/judgments
Next, you will need to draft a dispute letter to Equifax. Be sure to include your personal information and to explain the reason for the dispute, including why you feel the negative information listed is erroneous.
Finally, you will need to wait 30-45 days to receive Equifax’s determination.
After I Mail My Dispute Letter, What Happens?
If your dispute is successful, continue the process to attempt to remove all negative entries from your credit report. Once this step is completed, clear up any remaining issues, such as discrepancies involving personal information.
Equifax will delete any negative item that cannot be verified. Be aware that Equifax, when notified by creditors, will update items on your credit report. Depending on what the creditors report, this could be bad or good information. For example, Equifax might revise your credit report to show additional late payments.
If you lose your Equifax dispute, the negative items will stay on your report possibly for the next 7-10 years. If this happens, you still have some options to continue the credit repair process.
Methods beyond a simple dispute are more advanced and require the help of a credit professional. Some techniques an attorney might use include negotiating directly with the creditor, payment for deletion, or debt validation.
It is important to understand that creditors are not required to report credit history to credit bureaus. Only credit bureaus must follow the law requiring the seven year limit. Therefore, an experienced attorney may be able to convince a creditor to remove a negative credit item.
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