4 Common Flaws On Your Credit Report

Your credit report contains vital information that affects your credit score. Every time you take up a loan or apply for credit, your lenders will access your credits report to see if you qualify for the it. Thus it is imperative that you constantly monitor your credit report to make sure it is in good health.

Given the monstrous amount of data each credit bureaus process on a daily basis, there are bound to be errors in one form or another. Here are a few common errors found in credit reports:


1. Incorrect spellings

This can happen to your name, addresses, telephone number, email address, social security number and so forth. Misspelling can means your report contains negative records that belong to someone else! Just fixing these minor details can give you a significant boost in your credit score.

2. Information that should not be there

Most negative records should disappear from credit report in seven years or less. The exception being bankruptcy which can stay in the report for up to ten years. Make sure to go over the negative records in your credit report and look out for those records that should not be there.

3. Double listing of loan information

This may come as a shock for many people when they noticed that their mortgage loans (or other loans) have been listed more than once in their credit reports. This will inflate the debt amount artificially and increase the debt-to-credit ratio (which is not a good thing).

Lenders may not notice the double listing errors and instead focus more on the debt-to-credit ratio and debt amounts to make their decisions.

4. Missing positive information

If you review your reports from the three major credit bureaus, you probably notice that they are not entirely identical. If you look closer, you will probably find some positive records that exist in one report but not the others.

Don't ignore them. List them down for each report and call up each credit bureau to report the discrepancy. Positive records can give your credit score a big boost so make sure all of them are included in the three reports.

The three major credit bureaus handle a large volume of data each day and thus it is inevitable that errors will occur. However, it is your responsibility to ensure that your own credit reports contain the correct data. Review your credit reports once every six month and take action quickly when you find any errors.

By: Stephen Chua

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