Statistics show that 250 million Americans, or 1 out of 4, have errors in their credit record. At times like these when credit is very important, that figure is huge!

So what should someone do if they find out there are errors in their credit profile? Will it be easy to fix the error/s? Will it take a short or a long time to fix them? What impact can these errors have on a person? These are some of the more commonly asked questions regarding this topic and will be answered in the article below.

Every consumer needs to have his/her credit record checked once or preferably twice a year. Whether there are errors or none in your credit report, you can readily verify this when you have it checked. It is always best to try and correct these errors as early as possible because it can be a very frustrating and time consuming process. You would not want to have to go through this when you are trying to buy a home, purchase an automobile, or trying to taking out a personal loan. Credit report errors can do you more harm than you can imagine – they are enough reasons for you to be denied credit!

Treat the errors immediately by disputing them with the respective credit bureau. Remember that different errors may appear in all credit bureaus. Some credit bureaus may contain different errors than others and any discrepancies discovered in your credit profile need to be disputed with each credit bureau reporting the inaccuracy. A report of the error should also be made to the creditor who owns the account and should be disputed with him/her. This is to make sure that the error is rectified and put out of the way the soonest possible.

While this process should be fairly simple to take care of and relatively quick, it does not usually work out that way. It normally takes 30 to 60 days to fix an error. Sometimes, it could be longer than that. A major, major problem that is hard to fix, in the sense that it may take years, is that of identity theft.

Once the situation is fixed, request a letter from the creditor and the credit bureau testifying that the issue is caused by an error and that it has been duly straightened out. Such letter is your precaution for any future transactions wherein you may be questioned. Credit problems which resurface after you believe the situation has been taken care of is way to common in this industry. It would be nice if the creditors and credit bureaus would be placed under stricter rules and regulations to insure the accuracy of a person’s credit rating. This is due to the fact that, now more than ever, a person’s credit rating is a big factor in many transactions. Better regulation in the credit industry probably needs to be put in place and also enforced. This would most likely help to lessen the number of reporting errors.

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