The Best Ways to Eliminate the Negative things on your Credit report to improve Credit
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While it is impossible to remove correct items from your credit report, there are negative items you must eliminate. These incorrect items can negatively affect your credit report score. Therefore, it is very important to know how to eliminate negative items from your credit report.
Eliminating credit report errors are very useful if you plan on applying for a loan or mortgage. It is even quite possible to rectify mistakes of over five years from your credit history. There are various ways to deal with these errors, irrespective of the situation you encounter.
We have decided to provide you with the best ways to remove incorrect items from your credit reports.
How to Eliminate Negative things from your credit Report
Here are some of the ways to eliminate negative items from your credit report:
Examine Credit Report for Errors
The first thing to do before taking any further step is to examine your negative entry. This is to ensure that your credit report does not contain any incorrect information whatsoever.
All you have to do in this case is to try and spot any possible incorrect detail. Your credit report is likely filled with a few errors whether or not your entry is valid. Therefore, the first step is to cross-examine your credit report along with the correct details already recorded.
Some of the items we advise you to examine for errors are:
Account number
Status of Account
Credit Limit
Date of entry
Status of Payment(e.g. Late payments)
Balance
Collections
Foreclosures
Any other important detail that might be incorrect
It is essential to note these corrections alongside the incorrect data input in the entry. This initial step is the best way to begin the process of eliminating negative items from your credit report. The errors spotted will be useful in the next steps.
Send in a dispute letter to the credit report Agency
Another important step to take is to notify the credit bureau through a dispute letter. You will compose this dispute letter to make the reporting aware of the negative items contained in your credit report.
All credit bureaus report to the Federal Credit Reporting Act (FRCA). This body expects all the provided information gotten from credit bureaus to be accurate and error-free. Therefore, you should notify the credit bureaus of your negative entry to avoid further complications.
You can have your dispute letter sent to the credit bureau via their websites or an email. TransUnion, Equifax and Experian are the main Credit bureaus you can contact. You must ensure that your letter is specific and addresses the situation you are facing.
It is best to send your letter to all three credit bureaus to ensure the removal of your negative entry. Once the credit bureaus receive and acknowledge your dispute letter, they will screen the negative entry and rectify it for you.
Debt Settlement
Sometimes it is difficult for credit bureaus to dispute every negative entry, which may lead you to consider other options. If you cannot dispute your negative entry for whatever reason, you would have to negotiate a "pay for delete" deal with the creditor.
This deal means you’d have to offer a payment to the creditor to remove the negative entry from your credit report completely. There must be an agreement in place before any payment is made to the creditor or collection agency. You must also have this pay-for-delete agreement put down in written form.
Working out pay for delete deal with the creditor or collection agency is best done over the phone. Direct communication and negotiations are fostered through such phone calls. However, make sure you have an agreement in writing as evidence of payment for the deal.
Benefits of Debt Settlement
Negative items on your credit report can negatively impact your credit score. Credit bureaus cannot always confirm every detail of the negative entry, so it is often removed. This removal could affect your credit score. This is why Debt settlement deals are one of the best options to eliminate negative items from your credit report.
Some of the benefits include:
Swift response
Creditors and collection agencies are often quick to respond to remove negative entries on your credit report. It is easier and faster to get in touch with them than credit bureaus through just a phone call.
Elimination of accurate items
Certain collection agencies can remove items that the credit reporting agency finds invalid.
Disadvantages of Debt settlement
While debt settlement has its positives, there are also some setbacks you should know.
In some situations, creditors might not be able to delete every negative item on the credit report. While they may delete the account in collection, the error from the primary creditor would still be visible on the credit report.
For instance, if there is a negative item from the original creditor on the non-payment of a car loan. This item will likely still appear on the credit report. So, at times there is a bit of limitation to what creditors can eliminate.
Also, collection agencies often receive many requests to remove negative items from credit reports. These loads of requests might leave some negative entries unattended. This is why we advise you to have an agreement in place and in the form of writing as proof of payment.
Other methods of removing negative items include:
Seeking Assistance from a Credit Counseling Agency
These are non-profit credit counselling institutions that render similar services as credit bureaus. They can assist with disputing incorrect details found on your credit report. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) is an example of a credit counselling agency.
Get a Credit Repair Professional
If you are not satisfied with any of the mentioned options, you can hire a credit repair professional. Some experts can remove negative items from your credit reports. However, this method can often prove to be expensive.
Draft a goodwill letter
Drafting a goodwill letter is similar to the pay-for-delete deal but with a lower probability rate of response. This method is best used when you are working on deleting paid collections or late payments. You will need to write a "goodwill letter" stating your situation and what negative entry you want to rectify.
However, you must keep in mind that the chances of a positive response are quite low.
Common Negative items on Credit Reports
Based on the analysis of credit bureaus, these are the frequently spotted negative items found on credit reports.
Incorrect name, telephone number, address and other information
Identity theft from external accounts
Inaccurate credit limit
Inaccurate current balance
Multiple appearances of accounts with dissimilar creditors
Inaccurate payment status and dates
Repeated debts in various lists
Mixed up and wrong identities
FAQs
What method is the best for removing negative items?
There are various ways for eliminating inaccurate information from credit scores. Debt settlement is one of the best methods available if you have issues disputing a credit report.
How do I dispute a credit report?
The process is quite simple. All you need to know is to draft a dispute letter to the credit bureau highlighting and explaining the incorrect details. You should receive a response within 30 days to your request.
Do removed negative items increase my credit score?
The item removed determines the effect it would have on your credit score. Some deleted items can either have little or much impact on your credit score.