How to Correct Credit Report Errors With Ease
How to Correct Credit Report Errors With Ease
Posted on July 8, 2022
If you’re planning on getting a Waterdown auto loan or want to maintain your credit score just in case, keeping an eye out for errors and omissions is key. That’s why we recommend monitoring your credit report and using your two free checks a year to make sure everything is right. Our Waterdown auto loans team outlines what you need to do to correct credit report errors.
Spotting errors on your credit report
Equifax and TransUnion do their best to maintain accuracy but with millions of credit records and millions of entries per week, mistakes are bound to happen.
While a typo or something shouldn’t be serious, getting a comma wrong in a debt or forgetting to note a payment on your payment history is much more serious.
Errors can include incorrect debt information saying you owe more than you do, missed payment notations, outdated address information or worse.
Most errors won’t impact your record at all, but some can and some can even prevent you accessing an auto loan until it’s corrected.
That’s why we recommend keeping an eye on your credit report. It’s much less stressful having errors corrected when you’re not waiting for a loan decision!
How to correct credit report errors in Waterdown
You have two options when you spot an error on your credit report. You can contact the organization who made the error or request the credit bureaus correct it.
If you have an open account with the organization, i.e., an auto loan company you’re still paying, contact them and request they make the correction.
If you have a closed account with the organization, i.e., you have paid off the auto loan, you can still request they make the correction but they may not do anything.
Otherwise, you can contact Equifax and TransUnion yourself to request they correct your credit report.
Equifax calls it a Consumer Credit Report Update. It’s an online form you’ll need to complete to have your report updated.
TransUnion has a similar process called the TransUnion credit investigation request. It sounds more serious but is the same process as for Equifax.
You’ll need to prove your claim that an entry is incorrect with both credit bureaus. You’ll need proof of ID so they know you have the right to request the change and proof that a mistake has been made.
These changes can take up to 28 days to investigate and you’ll get a letter or email from the relevant bureau outlining their decision.
In the vast majority of cases, as long as there is a genuine mistake and you have the evidence to prove it, your credit report will be corrected.
If they don’t change your report, you also have the right to add an explanatory note to your report. This can explain a situation to future lenders which can mitigate any effect of the error.
When you’re ready for a car lease or loan, get in touch with the Waterdown auto loan experts at Northway Ford for great deals on auto finance.
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