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From: Chapter 4: Reading / Understanding Your Credit File
All three of the credit bureaus include with the report they send you a dispute form if sent by regular mail or a dispute form online if done via the internet. They tell you to fill out the form and send it in to them so they can “better assist you”. Oh they'll assist you! After you fill out their form the way they want you to (on or off line), you most likely would have given them information which they weren’t entitled to (we'll get to that later). For now remember never use their form EVER!
If you look at it for a moment it looks like a multiple choice quiz. The problem is that most of the choices guarantee you’ll fail the test so don’t use it. The answers are designed to get you to admit owing or having paid the debt off either of which would force the information to remain. There’s more on this later as well.
On every credit report there is a section for the accounts and then there are three other sections you will need to look over. The first shows all of the "Public Record" information like (judgments, bankruptcies, tax liens, & child support). The second is usually titled "Additional Information". This is where they put (previous address, employer, & spouse). The last is for listing "Inquiries", (every time a company or individual pulled a copy of your credit report).
When you look at the Public Records section it will show what type of case it was, when it was filed, who filed it, and for how much. Pay close attention to this information because it becomes critical later. It will also show the (alleged) current disposition of the case. In other words it will note if the case has been settled, dismissed, withdrawn, paid, satisfied, discharged or unpaid. Again, this is critical to note in order to decide how to proceed.
With respect to all of the accounts listed on the top section of the report such as, credit cards, car loans, mortgages, student loans etc., they may have a disposition underneath them as well. It could read, Collection Account, Charged Off, Paid, Satisfied or Closed Account. Most of these are self explanatory, but just for the sake of clarity let's go over them. |
