How to Dispute Your Equifax Credit Report
Anxious to remove bad credit from your Equifax credit report?
In this process, obtaining a copy of your Equifax credit report is tantamount in order that you may review the credit report for any negative information listed. Following is a list of items which will affect your credit negatively:
third party actions involving charge-offs
court decisions, such as judgments
bankruptcy proceedings, such as Chapter 7 or Chapter 13
bank-initiated foreclosure proceedings
repossessions, i.e. auto, boat, or other personal property
garnishments
delay of payments
collections, paid collections, settled accounts
public records/judgments
A dispute letter to Equifax is the next step. You should draft a letter which outlines your reason for believing the reported information is inaccurate. Be sure to include your personal information in the letter.
Finally, you will need to wait 30-45 days to receive Equifax’s determination.
After I Mail My Dispute Letter, What Happens?
If you win your dispute with Equifax, you should continue to clear up any unresolved issues, including remaining inaccurate bad credit. Once you eliminate all traces of bad credit, you should focus on resolving any other discrepancies such as address and employment information.
Equifax will delete any negative item that cannot be verified. Be aware that Equifax, when notified by creditors, will update items on your credit report. Depending on what the creditors report, this could be bad or good information. For example, Equifax might revise your credit report to show additional late payments.
Expect the negative item to remain on your credit report for 7-10 years if you lose your dispute with Equifax. However, don’t lose heart! There are other options available to continue trying to rebuild your credit.
Methods beyond a simple dispute are more advanced and require the help of a credit professional. Some techniques an attorney might use include negotiating directly with the creditor, payment for deletion, or debt validation.
Keep in mind that credit reporting by a creditor is voluntary, while the seven year limit is imposed only on credit bureaus. As such, a convincing attorney can often persuade a creditor to erase a negative item from your credit report.
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