How to Successfully Dispute Your Credit Report

Credit correction is not accomplished overnight and so the order in which you dispute items is very important (especially if you are on a deadline to raise your credit score).

If your credit is a mess, chances are you have a variety of bad credit listings such as charge offs and collections. Some items are more damaging than others.

Below I listed the full gamut of negative items in order of severity:

A judgment or public record (including tax liens) are the worst item. This is because they can stay on your file for ten years.

Included in Bankruptcy also falls into the most severe category. If you filed bankruptcy these items are referred to as those discharged in the case. They are just as severe as the bankruptcy listing itself.

Collection Accounts are considered very severe. Collection agencies often place negative marks on your credit as motivation to get you to pay. Sometimes you can negotiate a payment in exchange for removal of the listing. Never negotiate for a "paid" or "paid for less" listing. A paid collection is almost as bad as an unpaid collection listing.

A foreclosure and a repossession can prevent you from getting credit for a home and/or car in the future. These are looked as very severe.

Charge Offs, especially recent charge offs are indications of a very severe credit risk. A charge off can often lead to multiple negative credit listings. The original creditor will list the "charge off" as well as the subsequent collection agencies that purchase the debt.

It is shocking how much a single recent late payment can reduce a good credit score. Your best move is to negotiate with your creditor to have this deleted from your report. A recent late payment is very severe.

You can sometimes convince a creditor to remove a 30, 60, 90, or 120 day late payment. However, make sure that your account is current and in good standing.

You should ignore old late payments if you have any items that are more severe. Leave these items alone until they are the only negatives that remain.

Incorrect Personal Information such as a wrong address or employer is not important. The credit scoring formula does not use this information to generate your score so it is less important compared to the items above.

In order to quickly clean up your credit report, you must challenge the most severe items first. It does no good to focus your time and effort on insignificant items like your employer or address.

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