Review Your Credit Report Carefully for Accuracy

To improve your credit rating, you should begin by reviewing your credit reports from all three credit bureaus. The three major credit bureaus don't always have the same information because some lenders report information to just one or two of the credit bureaus. So for a truly accurate take on your credit situation, you'll have to get copies of your reports from all three bureaus. You have to make sure all information on your credit report is complete and correct. Exactly how your information is organized varies from report to report.

Examine every item listed on your credit report to ensure it's an accurate reflection of your credit history. Your credit report is also one of the most effective tool available for detecting identity theft. The information on your report is compiled by the credit bureaus, which regularly receive data on whether you make payments on time and how much you owe. Since creditors are constantly reporting new information to the bureaus, your credit report is always changing. That's why you should periodically review your credit report for inaccuracies or omissions.

Look for Inaccuracies

Errors are common on credit reports. Sometimes they're caused by simple human error, other times they occur when credit files of people with similar names are inadvertently mixed. Increasingly, unfamiliar or inaccurate information can also be an indicator of identity theft or fraud. In particular look for the following:

Identitying information:

• Incorrect or incomplete name, address or phone number
• Incorrect social security number or birth date
• Incorrect, missing, or outdated employment information
• Incorrect aliases
• Incorrect marital status -- a former spouse listed as your current spouse

Payment history:

• Incorrect credit balance
• Unreported credit limit
• Incorrect date the account was opened
• Incorrectly reported late or missed payments or charge-offs
• Co-mingled accounts -- credit histories for someone with the same name or similar social security number. Make sure that they truly belong to you and not a family member, someone at the same address or someone with the same name.
• Duplicate accounts; premarital debts of your current spouse attributed to you.
• Incorrect account histories -- such as a late payment notation when you paid on time or a debt shown as past due when it was discharged in bankruptcy
• Closed accounts incorrectly listed as open
• Accounts you closed that that don't indicate, "closed by consumer"
• A missing notation when you disputed a charge on a credit bill

Public records:

• Bankruptcies older than 10 years or not identified by the specific chapter of the bankruptcy code
• Lawsuits or judgments older than seven years
• Paid tax liens older than seven years, delinquent accounts older than seven years or accounts that omit the date of the delinquency
• Lawsuits you were not involved in
• Paid tax, judgment, mechanic's or other liens listed as unpaid

Inquiries:

• Credit application inquiries older than two years
• Unauthorized credit (not promotional) inquiries--credit-reporting agencies usually do not remove these at a consumer's request, but it never hurts to ask