Credit Reports: What They Are, How To Get One, How To Fix It

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), creditors are allowed, but not required, to report your credit history. Creditors (not the reporting bureau) can also freely add information to your credit report. They can also remove it.

Suggested steps for getting favorable information included in your report follow. If your account is severely delinquent or has already been charged off, see the next section.

• The easiest way to get something reported to all 3 major credit bureaus is to start by asking the creditor for what you want

• Remind the creditor that you are their customer and that you value doing business with them. Use polite language, phrasing your words to indicate that you are working together and not confronting one another.

• Explain to the creditor that you want to clean up your credit report, and ask for help (again emphasizing you are both on the same "team").

• Say that although you had trouble making payments in the past, you have paid on time for "x" number of months, etc. Ask the creditor to delete the negative information to better reflect your current ability to pay. Typically, the longer an account has been paid on time, the better your chances are of getting negative information removed, and/or positive payment history included.
• If the person with whom you speak at a creditor says nothing can be done, don't argue. Some customer service representatives don't know how to make a positive change, or are not authorized to remove the information. Ask to speak to a supervisor or another person in charge of credit reporting. Be firm, but remain courteous and polite. Remember you want their help and they're under no obligation to give it to you.

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