CLEANING UP CREDIT REPORTS
What you will need:
1. A black permanent marker,
2. A copier,
3. Envelopes,
4. Stamps,
5. A telephone.
1. Call all 3 credit reporting agencies and order your credit report—it is free. Your order will be automated.
Transunion: 1-800-916-8800
Equifax: 1-800-685-1111 or 1-866-222-5881 for CA
Experian: 1-800-311-4769
2. When you get your reports make a copy (front and back) of each report.
3. You will notice that all of the creditors are in long strings across the long part of the page.
4. The ‘good’ reports are usually the first ones reported (but not always, you will have to scrutinize each report).
5. Do not do anything with the good reports.
6. When you come to the ‘bad’ reports you will want to do one of the following:
a) If it is for late payments it will show 30, 60 or 90 days late…..if it shows 30 days late you will take your black permanent marker and write across the entry “NEVER 30 DAYS LATE” or enter the number of days that it states payment has been late.
b) If it shows that you are in default of payments you will write across the entry “NOT MINE”.
c) If it is a notice of federal tax lien, write “NOT MINE”.
7. By writing this across the entry forces the reporting agency to verify that it is yours or that it was late.
8. If you have several ‘bad’ entries, do not do all of them at once, pick 3-5 for each mailing.
9. Make a copy of what you send for your records. (This will prove to be an important step as it will let you know what you have already done.)
10. You only need to enclose the page(s) of the corrections you have made for mailing back to the reporting agency, no cover letter or cover page is necessary.
11. The reporting agency will send you an updated report within 30 days and either strike it altogether, or they will state that it is verified to be correct.
12. If they say it is verified do the same thing that you did the first time and send it back.
13. Each agency has several addresses, so send to different addresses if you need to follow up with another mailing.
14. Understand that they cannot verify since they have no first hand knowledge of who you are.
15. There may be other names on your report, make sure that you write through them “NOT ME”.
16. You may have to take some time with this, but it will eventually clean up your entire report.
17. Be diligent and even if you find you must send in for the same ones several times, they will eventually take it off.
18. Note: Each agency has several addresses, pick any one for the first mailing and thereafter you may want to choose a different address.
Transunion: 1-800-916-8800
1561 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Fullerton, CA 92831
PO Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834
PO Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022
PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022
Equifax: 1-800-685-1111 or 1-866-222-5881 for CA
PO Box 105873, Atlanta, GA 30348
PO Box 105167, Atlanta, GA 30348
PO Box 105888, Atlanta, GA 30348
PO Box 105252, Atlanta, GA 30348
PO Box 105379, Atlanta, GA 30348
PO Box 105873, Atlanta, GA 30348
PO Box 740256, Atlanta, GA 30374
Experian: 1-800-311-4769
PO Box 2104, Allen, Texas 75013
PO Box 2002, Allen, Texas 75013
PO Box 9595, Allen, Texas 75013
PO Box 9530, Allen, Texas 75013
PO Box 1017, Allen, Texas 75013
