Credit Bureau Disputes - How To Win
There is no one in this country that is not aware of the big three, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, credit bureaus. They keep records on everyone in the country. If you buy anything or even use utilities they have a file on you. Their reports are used to determine your credit worthiness and they are responsible for keeping up to date and accurate records. But like any sys tem there can be mix ups. This is especially true for a company that has to keep track of billions of bits of data on a daily basis.
 
The thing is that not all three will have the same information. Some creditors will only report to one or the other of them. It is rare that lenders on a small scale will report to all three. Big ticket items like mortgages and car loans will be on all three. This is the reason you are advised to get a report form all 3 at least once a year to compare the information on them and to make sure they are an accurate representation of your financial picture.

When you find an error, understanding the enormity of their task, you will be more inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt and that is why there are procedures that you can take to get the report corrected. It is not a rare occurrence and the vast majority of consumers will find some discrepancies and inaccuracies on the report.  These errors will continue to be on your report unless you personally take action.

Say you get your reports and on two of them you see where there is a report of a bill due at the local hardware. You know that you cleared that account, so this is where you would begin a credit bureau disputes.  These have to be done in writing and you also have to have some evidence supporting your claims. You file the grievance with the two credit bureaus that have the bogus information.

Credit bureau disputes are filed daily and it is their job once you have filed the dispute to confirm it with the company that the debt was paid in full. There is no automatic mechanism in place for tracking these discrepancies and nothing will get done unless you take action. It is these errors that could possibly be the reason your score is low.