When you receive your credit report, check first for the most common errors:
- Incorrect name spelling or a wrong name or a nickname instead of your legal name
It is important that your name is correct on your credit report. If you are Robert, you shouldn’t have Bob on your report. If you are Ladonna, you shouldn’t have La Donna on your report or L’Donna.
You might not think having an alternate is a big deal, but it is a BIG DEAL when someone else’s $5,000 collection appears on your report and a lawsuit is filed against you.
Get your name fixed on ALL your legal documents, including your credit report. - Incorrect addresses
As a mortgage broker, I saw a lot of credit reports. It’s surprising how many include an address that is false, and when that happened, the person had to write a Letter of Explanation for the underwriter about the address, because when getting a home loan, the lender must know if you own a rental property.
Your parents’ address (your childhood home) should not be on your credit report. Nor should a storage unit or a place of employment be there. And if there’s an old address where you never took out credit or had ancient bad credit that is closed, get that off, too, because you have a right to an updated report. - Wrong Social Security Number
Check it because a wrong number could result in a disastrous case of mistaken identity.
When sending in a letter to correct your personal identifiers, make absolutely certain your supporting document is EXACTLY the same as what your name/address should be. Don’t get sloppy and send in a piece of ID that has your name different.
See here for more information about sending supporting documentation.
LEXINGTON LAW and CreditRepair.com Fined Billions of Dollars — WOW!!!
Lexington Law and CreditRepair.com were sued by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB). They reached a settlement agreement outside of court for $2.7 Billion, and now it’s up to a judge to approve the agreement. In addition, they cannot telemarket for business for 10 years.
How are they going to pay that? I don’t know, because Lexington Law has now filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
Will they continue business or be permanently shut down? I’ll be watching to find out. If you’d like to read more about this, see here.
If you’re too busy or overwhelmed to do your own credit repair, hiring an ethical and honest credit repair company is a valid option. But you can also save your money and do your own credit repair if you like.
