Errors on Your Credit Report
How many of us have errors on our credit reports? The answer is 70%. Suprised? I was when I read this on Bankrate.com. The scary thing is most of these don't get removed. To be honest how often do you check your credit report. Most sites say you should check your credit report at least once per year. But how often does this really happen?
Even though you are entitled to one free credit report per year, I am pretty sure this privelage goes unused. Why? People really don't think or sometimes even care about thier credit report. It is that kind of hear no evil see no evil. Or maybe if you know you are not so hot in the credit sector, you don't want to see the shame. You avoid your credit report like you avoid your dentist. But if you do that your credit report is going to be filled with cavities.
When do consumers check thier credit report? The answer is usually when they need something. Things like buying a house comes to mind. Without a doubt a lender is going to fully review your credit report and score when you are buying a house. So what happens when you check your credit report right before you need it? You might find that it is full of errors. Now what will you do?
Your credit rights allow you to dispute errors, but they are not going to disappear in a day or two. This can take some time. Disputing credit report errors you need to contact the three major credit bureaus. After the dispute is filled they have to get back with you with in 30 days. A whole month. Is that time going to slow you down when trying to buy a home? Hell ya. Even longer would be if the dispute comes back with your account saying it needs to stay on your credit report. Then you are going to have to contact your account and see if you can prove you side and have it removed. This is going to take even more time.
Hell, you even got three credit reports to do this with. It would of been nice to get your 3 in 1 credit report on a regular basis and not have to deal with this last minute.
So the moral is check your credit report at least one time a year. Hell, it is free so why not. The idea above is only one potential outcome of not haveing errors removed. It also can cause your interest rates to rise costing you more money. So get on it. OK