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If you discover information on your credit report that you believe is inaccurate, you can take the following steps to dispute and hopefully correct the information.
You may find that some companies have forms on their websites that you can use.You can also submit your information directly to the reporting lender.
After you submit your claim, you may need to wait 30 to 45 days before it’s resolved and the corrected information appears on your credit report. Note however, that if the inquiry confirms that the information is accurate, the bureau or lender won’t change it.
If you still have questions after your claim is rejected and want to pursue your dispute further, you can file a complaint against a bureau or lender with the Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau or with the Attorney General of your state.
In addition to calculating credit scores themselves, the three major credit bureaus, Equifax,Experian, and TransUnion, provide detailed information about a consumer’s credit activity toother companies that calculate a credit score. The two major companies providing credit scoresare FICO® and VantageScore. Each uses a proprietary method to calculate their score.
FICO® Score
FICO considers the following when calculating your score (source):
Payment history (35%)
Do you make your payments on time?
Amounts owed (30%)
Do you owe too much to too many lenders?
Length of credit history (15%)
Does your record show that you can maintain your commitment over a period of time?
New credit (10%)
Have you opened multiple new accounts in a short period of time?
Credit mix (10%)
Do you have a variety of account types, such as credit cards, installment loans, or a mortgage?
This exact mix may vary depending on which version of FICO® Score is used. In general,FICO® uses a different calculation depending on the nature of the loan.
VantageScore
VantageScore 4.0 considers the following when calculating your score (source):
Payment history (41%)
Repayment behavior, such whether you pay on time or have delinquencies.
Age of credit (20%)
How long you’ve been using credit.
Utilization (20%)
The ratio between available credit and used credit.
New credit (11%)
The number or recent accounts opened plus credit inquiries (hard inquiries).
Balance (6%)
Total amount of reported debt.
Available credit (2%)
Amount of credit available.
Both FICO® Score and VantageScore range from 300 to 850. However, they divide the categories differently.
FICO Score categories
300 – 499: Very poor500 – 600: Poor
601 – 660: Fair
661 – 780: Good781 – 850: Excellent
VantageScore categories
300 – 600: Subprime
601 – 660: Near prime
651 – 780: Prime
781 – 850: Superprime
FICO® produces several models of their FICO® Score to accommodate different types of lending. Models also vary depending on which bureaus provide the data for them. The most common model is FICO Score 8, which along with FICO Score 9 are widely used for lending.Both use data from all bureaus, as do most other other models.
FICO® Score models that are more specific include FICO® Auto Score and FICO® BankcardScore, for lending associated with car purchases and credit card applications. Scores for these models range from 250 – 900.
Mortgage lending uses FICO® Score 2, FICO® Score 5, and FICO® Score 4, which use data from only one of the three bureaus.
Disclaimer: FICO® Scores are developed independently by Fair Isaac Corporation. Most, but not all, lenders use FICO® Scores to determine a consumer's credit worthiness. We're not affiliated with FICO® and have no influence on producing a FICO® Score.
You can take several steps to improve your credit score, but be aware that there are no quick fixes. You may be able to see your score tick up soon after you start trying to improve it.However, credit reports are updated month by month and it may take several months or even years before your credit score is where you want it to be.
Each of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) uses a different model to calculate a credit score and each gathers data independently. The credit bureaus pull your information from many different sources (such as lenders, collections, court records) at different times, there will always be discrepancies at any particular time between the reports from each credit bureau. The financial institutions and companies that provide your credit score use different methods. Some rely on FICO® Score and some rely on VantageScore. Even between those two companies, there are credit scores based on reports from one bureau, two bureaus, or all three bureaus.
Lenders generally update their data on a monthly basis. However, the lenders may report data at various times during the month. The differences in reporting dates shouldn’t vary by more than 30 days. If you’re waiting for a specific update, such as corrected information from a dispute, remember that it can take up to 45 days for the updated information to appear on your credit report.
Your credit data is fully encrypted and secure. No one else has access to your information.
Your credit score is updated completely every 30 to 45 days.
You can securely access your credit information online or have it sent to you in the mail. For security reasons, we won’t send your credit information by email.
The IRS doesn’t report your tax debt to the credit bureaus. Your tax return information is protected by law, so the IRS can’t disclose it to third parties. However, if the IRS has filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien, your debt to the IRS enters into public record. Even though the debt is public, the credit bureaus won’t include it in their credit reports. However, it may be possible for a lender to find the information if they look through public records. You can avoid a tax lien by entering into a repayment agreement with the IRS.
You and your spouse can see the information from all shared accounts, but having some shared accounts doesn’t allow you or them access information about any non-shared financial accounts.
Derogatory information can stay on your record for 7 – 10 years. It’s always good to review your records to ensure that the information is accurate. If you find something that you feel is inaccurate, take steps to dispute and correct it.
You can get a comprehensive background check from several online service providers. We don’t provide a full background check, only a credit report and credit score.
You can dispute it, however as part of your application, you would have provided signed permission for the lender to make a hard credit inquiry. The inquiry goes in your credit report whether you’re approved for the loan or not. It’s not likely that your dispute will prove successful unless the lender made an inquiry without your permission.
Any accounts that were in good standing when you closed them will remain in your record for 10years. Any negative information will remain for seven years.
You can lower your monthly loan payments in a few ways:
Yes. Creditors always use gross income (before taxes) when calculating your debt to income ratio.
Newer accounts may not show up on your credit report because the creditor hasn’t started reporting it yet.
If you see information in your credit report that you think is incorrect, you can dispute it with the creditor or the bureaus. For more information, see the question How do I dispute and correct inaccurate information in my credit report?
There are several factors that contribute to calculating a credit score. In general, the bureau or company considers the following factors when calculating your credit score:
These factors may be weighted differently by each bureau or company so credit scores mayvary. For more information, see the question How is my credit score calculated?