How to Challenge Your Date Updated Status on Your Credit Report

"The only medicine for suffering, crime, and all the other woes of mankind, is wisdom."
- Thomas Huxley

An interesting phenomenon happens when a consumer disputes their credit reports. I discovered this when I merely ordered copies of my credit reports through "normal" channels. By this I mean by using annualcreditreport.com and then by requesting my reports in writing from the individual bureaus.

You see, the credit bureaus do not make any money by providing accurate information, so they attempt to avoid investigation at all possible costs. The most common delay tactic that they use is claiming that you didn't send in the proper identifying information. I knew this prior to ordering my credit report and had a checklist of exactly what they required and sent the appropriate copies. (NEVER send originals) What I got back from the credit bureaus, several weeks later, was a form letter requesting the exact items that I had previously sent.

The identifying items can include a copy of your drivers license or state identification, utility bill to show your current address, copy of your social security card and other items that will help prove who you are and where you reside.

What they are attempting to do here is discourage you into not sending the requested items again and just forget about trying to obtain your credit reports. The reason behind this is that they know that your credit report will contain some errors. Most all do. Not only will this create more work for them but they will be forced to go against the banking system, the very people they earn their living through, by correcting errors. This will ultimately change your credit score allowing you to obtain lower interest rates, where the banking system will make less money from you.