I tried to get another car loan, and was denied. I pulled all three of my credit reports, and well they are a mess for both my husband and myself. I am not sure where to start. I assume it would be to correct all personal information. Do you wait for verification then start disputing other info.?
I wouldn't focus on the personal information at first. Personally I look for the oldest reported items and start by disputing them with the reporting agencies. The older an item is, the more difficult it will be for the creditor to verify. Also look for duplicates - both a creditor and one or more collection agencies reporting the same debt - dispute those. Write validation letters to every collection agency and send all correspondence certified mail, return receipt. There are samples of validation letters in the sample letter forum.
If you have PREVIOUS ADDRESSES listed on your report you might want to dispute them first. It seems that in CRA files, acct records are linked to addresses. Therefore, if the address associated with an acct is gone, it makes it much more difficult to verify the acct when it is disputed. Greg
i'm just beginning to clean up my reports as well. so, with this excuse in place, i'll feel better about looking highly naive when i ask you: what is the official reason you would list in your letter to a cra for disputing a former address off of a cr (since it is indeed a 'previous address')?
Soren, I have the same question about the adresses - the addresses listed are all valid. Hal - when you say "dispute the duplicates" do I write a letter saying, "these are duplicates, please remove?" Or should I just send letters saying they're not mine (even though they are)? I have one case where the OC still shows the balance open, and the CA is also listed twice. But on some other accounts, the OC and at least 2 other CAs are listed. All of these balances are in my "Total Accounts Balance." Chris
My Personal Information on my Equifax report shows my first name wrong (it has an extra letter in it) and an address from 9 years ago as current and my current as previous. What do I send to prove my new address and correct name? Maybe a copy of my driver's lisc. (although I don't want them to have my d.l. number) and a copy of my phone bill.
go to the library <<<< click above >>>> and read ALL the bullets about where to start and how to get organized. Organization is a really big key to success in getting the CR cleaned up or to have it contain only accurate info or however you want to view the process. My opinion only, but I believe this will be THE MOST PRODUCTIVE THING YOU CAN DO TO GET STARTED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. Wish I had understood more of why I should do certain things and how to do them in certain documented steps before before I started disputing with the CRA's. I probably am going to have some items stay on my report until the Chap13bk falls off next Spring because I didn't know what process to follow, and I listened to someone who should have given better guidance and direction, my BK lawyer. wish you the best of luck,
