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With all that your credit file affects, it’s important to make sure there are no surprises. Let Equifax help you continually ensure the accuracy of all three nationwide credit files with our three-bureau credit monitoring:

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3-in-1 Credit Report with Credit Rankings™
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With Equifax Credit Rankings,™ you can easily see the strength of your credit and debt in comparison to others by zip code, state or across the nation. Your 3-in-1 Credit Report with Credit Rankings™ includes:

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Addressing Errors in your Credit Report

You know that it’s important to regularly check your credit report. But what do you do if you find an error? And for that matter, what kinds of errors should you be looking for? While most errors are small and easily corrected, it’s important to follow a dispute process for any errors you find. Mistakes on your report of any size can affect your credit rating and have lasting implications if not resolved. That’s why it’s important to learn what to look for and how to resolve any issues you find.

Consistently reviewing your credit report is the best way to spot simple mistakes as well as potential fraud. By staying on top of your credit file and knowing when errors occur, you can have such inaccuracies removed quickly and easily. This could potentially minimize the negative financial impact such errors can cause. Remember — you’re entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the national credit reporting agencies. Keep in mind that in addition to noting changes to your credit file once a year, you can gain additional information from choosing to purchase monitoring products that will alert you on a regular basis throughout the year if any key changes are found in your credit file.

Inaccurate information in your credit report can include something you didn't buy or authorize, amounts that differ from what you actually paid, different purchase dates, items not properly identified, math errors, missing payments made or absent credits to your account, accounts mistakenly attributed to you, and application notices that you didn't fill out. If you uncover an error, gather all of the information you can before attempting to resolve it. Click here to learn more about initiating a dispute.

If you found an inaccuracy in your credit report at one credit reporting agency, you may want to get your credit report from the other two agencies to see if their reports contain the same error. After you've corrected an error with one agency, the other agencies should eventually receive the corrected information. But for prompt correction, it's best to contact each of the three agencies individually. Remember, your best allies in resolving errors on your credit report are major credit bureaus like Equifax and your own sharp eyes and careful attention.

Equifax and BBB Identity Theft Alerts: Negative Information In Your Credit File: What You Can and Cannot Do

Have you ever tried to rent a car or reserve a hotel room without a credit card? If you have, you know how important good credit is. Those without good credit find it difficult to obtain financing for the car they want, they have trouble qualifying for a mortgage, and their days are often filled with worry over unpaid bills.

If you have credit problems, you can take steps to handle negative information in your credit file on your own for little or no charge. Unfortunately, too many consumers are falling prey to enticing ads by "credit repair" companies that demand an up-front fee for the false promise that they can "repair" your existing credit record or create a new one for you.

Fraudulent credit repair companies may claim that they can remove negative information from your credit report. Or they may encourage you to create a "new" credit report or identity by applying for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to use instead of your Social Security number. An EIN is used primarily by businesses, and obtaining an EIN under false pretenses is a crime. A credit repair company cannot remove negative, but accurate, information on your credit report. It will be removed only after the required amount of time, as stated in the Fair Credit Reporting Act. For example, records of bankruptcy can remain on your credit report for 10 years, and foreclosures are reported for seven years.

To effectively reduce negative information in your credit file, you should:

• Remember to pay all your bills on time. When you are delayed or delinquent in a payment, late fees are charged, more interest accrues and your credit health is negatively affected.
• Apply for a department store card or gasoline credit card, which are often easier to qualify for, and pay those bills on time.
• Contact your card issuer immediately if you are unable to pay your bills on time, or if you have found an error in a bill. Be sure to make any complaints, and get corrections, in writing.
• Maintain a small number of credit cards and close unused accounts. Creditors look at your potential for going on a spending spree and falling too deeply into debt. The more credit cards you have, the larger your debt potential.
• Keep your debts reasonable. Financial experts say that, as a rule, non-mortgage debt payments should not exceed 10 to 15 percent of your take-home pay each month. If your debts are higher than that, try to reduce them before applying for another loan.
• Avoid unnecessary inquiries. Any time you authorize a creditor or other business to check your credit report, an inquiry is added to your report. If you have a large number of inquiries in a short amount of time, creditors may infer that you are either applying for too much credit because of financial difficulties or taking on more debt than you can repay.
• Order a copy of your credit report at least once a year from each of the three credit reporting companies to stay on top of changes to your credit file and to check for identity theft.

For more information about identity theft protection, please visit www.bbb.org.

© 2008 by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. Arlington, VA
Used by permission. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.