How to Clear Your Personal Credit Report

It Takes a Little Time, But It's Not Hard

Your credit report is the only way many people making important decisions about your finances, employment, and insurance will ever know you. You've probably heard it said, "You only have one chance to make a good first impression." And especially in the case of your credit report, it's true.

There are many companies that claim they will repair your credit. There is no need to pay someone else to do the job that you can accomplish all on your own. Since it is your own credit report you're working on improving, you might be a little more motivated to clear up any dents and dings that might be appearing.

The Ugly Truth
The first step to clearing your credit is to take a deep breath and check a copy of your credit report. Most people find their credit is not as bad as they anticipated. There are three main credit bureau companies that provide consumer credit reports and since they are competitors, they won't have the same exact information. Therefore, you need to get a copy of your personal report from each one.

Here are the points of contact for each bureau:

Equifax P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374-0241 http://www.equifax.com.
TRW/Experian P.O. Box 2104 Allen, TX 75013-2104 http://www.experian.com.
TransUnion P.O. Box 1000 Chester, PA 19022 http://www.transunion.com

Additionally, consumers are entitled to a free credit report from each of the credit bureaus once per calendar year that can be requested from the following website: http://www.annualcreditreport.com.

When you receive a copy of your report, check it carefully from top to bottom. Verify each entry from your name and address, to each and every creditor listed on your report is absolutely correct. The bureaus only report the information they receive from creditors, so it is not an exact science and mistakes do happen. Make a list of anything you deem inaccurate.

First Steps
Take your list and for each of the three credit bureaus, fill out the following information: Date, First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Maiden Name, Suffix, Current Address, City, State, Zip, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Information to Dispute.