Credit Report Error Resolution Part IV: Credit Monitoring
- By Budgeting Help
- Published 04/23/2007
- Credit
- Unrated
Part IV: Credit Monitoring
If you have followed the entire credit report error resolution process, you may have obtained deletions or changes to the information in your credit file in a number of ways:
• The CRA to which disputed errors was unable to validate the information as accurate, and responded they would delete the disputed information
• The CRA failed to respond within 30 days per FCRA regulations, and you have responded with a second dispute demanding deletion
• After the disputed information was validated, you were able to communicate with a creditor or collection agency, who agreed to delete or change the information in your credit file to accurately reflect your credit history with them
• Although the negative credit information was essentially valid, you were able to negotiate an agreement with your creditors or collectors in which they would delete or change negatively-reported items in exchange for full payment on the account in question.
Of course, all of these outcomes were fully documented by you.
You were victorious in your quest to improve your credit file (and thereby the all-important credit score), but you are not finished yet. The disputed information still needs to be deleted or changed in your credit file. The CRA either makes the changes directly, or a creditor reports to the CRA the deletion or change; the CRA is supposed to follow through and update your credit file. If you were able to obtain deletions or changes with a collection agency, the collector must ensure the original creditor agrees to the deletion or change in exchange for payment; the original creditor will then reports to the CRA itself (see “Collection Accounts” for detailed information).
The last steps in credit report error resolution is to ensure all of the deletions and changes occur.
CRAs move slowly to make deletions or changes, whether initiated by you, reported by creditors themselves or collection agency via the original creditor. You will need to wait 30-60 days for changes to your credit file to be made; CRAs have up to 60 days per FCRA regulations.
After that time, you can assume all changes have been made, and use your next credit application to gauge improvements in your credit file. Or, you can obtain additional copies of your credit report and monitor your credit file to ensure changes have been completed.
This is where records of disputes, validations, or negotiations and agreements with CRAs, creditors and/or collection agencies are vitally important. If the errors remain unchanged in your credit file, you will still have options if previous resolutions were documented. You can initiate another round of disputes with the CRAs, this time with greater demands, since changes were to be completed within the past 60 days. Or, since you have documentation of your process of credit improvement, you are able to substantiate your ability to maintain better payment history with potential creditors in the course of applying for new credit.
References:
Federal Trade Commission. Facts for Consumers: Building a Better Credit Report.
iGlobalFinancial.com. 2004 Consumer Credit Templates.
Federal Trade Commission. Facts for Consumers: Your Access to Free Credit Reports.
NeighborWorks America. Realizing the American Dream: A Manual for Homebuyers, 3rd Edition.
• The CRA to which disputed errors was unable to validate the information as accurate, and responded they would delete the disputed information
• The CRA failed to respond within 30 days per FCRA regulations, and you have responded with a second dispute demanding deletion
• After the disputed information was validated, you were able to communicate with a creditor or collection agency, who agreed to delete or change the information in your credit file to accurately reflect your credit history with them
• Although the negative credit information was essentially valid, you were able to negotiate an agreement with your creditors or collectors in which they would delete or change negatively-reported items in exchange for full payment on the account in question.
Of course, all of these outcomes were fully documented by you.
You were victorious in your quest to improve your credit file (and thereby the all-important credit score), but you are not finished yet. The disputed information still needs to be deleted or changed in your credit file. The CRA either makes the changes directly, or a creditor reports to the CRA the deletion or change; the CRA is supposed to follow through and update your credit file. If you were able to obtain deletions or changes with a collection agency, the collector must ensure the original creditor agrees to the deletion or change in exchange for payment; the original creditor will then reports to the CRA itself (see “Collection Accounts” for detailed information).
The last steps in credit report error resolution is to ensure all of the deletions and changes occur.
CRAs move slowly to make deletions or changes, whether initiated by you, reported by creditors themselves or collection agency via the original creditor. You will need to wait 30-60 days for changes to your credit file to be made; CRAs have up to 60 days per FCRA regulations.
After that time, you can assume all changes have been made, and use your next credit application to gauge improvements in your credit file. Or, you can obtain additional copies of your credit report and monitor your credit file to ensure changes have been completed.
This is where records of disputes, validations, or negotiations and agreements with CRAs, creditors and/or collection agencies are vitally important. If the errors remain unchanged in your credit file, you will still have options if previous resolutions were documented. You can initiate another round of disputes with the CRAs, this time with greater demands, since changes were to be completed within the past 60 days. Or, since you have documentation of your process of credit improvement, you are able to substantiate your ability to maintain better payment history with potential creditors in the course of applying for new credit.
References:
Federal Trade Commission. Facts for Consumers: Building a Better Credit Report.
iGlobalFinancial.com. 2004 Consumer Credit Templates.
Federal Trade Commission. Facts for Consumers: Your Access to Free Credit Reports.
NeighborWorks America. Realizing the American Dream: A Manual for Homebuyers, 3rd Edition.
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Article Series
This article is part 5 of a 5 part series. Other articles in this series are shown below:
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Credit Report Error Resolution Part IV: Credit Monitoring