2. 1. Account balances you recently paid down or
off. If you’ve just finished paying a bill down or
off, you might not dispute the elevated balance
that remains on your credit report because it’s
not actually an error, per se.
But the whole point of paying
the balance down was to bring
down your credit utilization ratio,
which is a heavily weighted factor
in your overall credit score.
3. 2.Incorrect former addresses. Of the 19 percent of
consumers who spotted an error on their report in
the study, nearly 40 percent of those errors were in
what the credit bureaus call “header data," things
like the consumer's previous street address. Many
elected not to dispute these sorts of line items
because the error doesn't seem like it would impact
their credit score. While an inaccurate address
might not have much to do with your score, it can
still wave a red flag, signaling issues that can foul-up
your mortgage application.
4. 3. Bills that were never yours in the first place. As with
completely bizarre former addresses, accounts listed on
your credit report that you never opened in the first place
can be a red flag that tips you to the fact that someone
else might have stolen your identity and opened a credit
card or account in your name. If you find one of these
items on one credit bureau report, but it’s currently
closed or has a zero balance, you might be tempted to let
it slide, thinking it can’t move the needle on your credit
score. In reality, though, if someone is using your identity
to obtain credit and you fail to dispute that the bills
belong to you, they might continue to use it, which can
cause you real problems. Of course, if the bills weren’t
paid on time or have been placed in collection, disputing
the accounts’ presence on your credit report is a must.
5. 4.Limits listed as lower than they really are. As with
closed accounts that were never yours in the first
place, accounts that are listed on your credit report as
having limits that are lower than they really are might
seem like a battle not worth fighting. But the fact is that
only two inputs go into the credit utilization ratio that
comprises about 30 percent of your FICO score: how
much credit you have available, and how much credit you
have used. So, if you have account balances that show up
on your credit reports as lower than they actually are
(i.e., that you have less credit available to use), that
inaccuracy can skew your credit score and screw up your
mortgage qualifying efforts. Big time.
6. 5.Derogatory items that should have aged off. Very
few of us are perfect, and you might have worked
hard to pay your bills on time in an effort to
overcome a credit ding from back in the
days. Although the impact a derogatory item has
on your credit score wanes over time, it’s still your
right (and your responsibility) to make sure
negative items disappear from your credit report
when they are supposed to – that’s 7 years for a
late payment, 10 years for a bankruptcy. If you are
still seeing credit dings on your report after more
than the relevant time frame has elapsed, dispute
them and claim the rehabbed credit (and score)
you’ve since earned.
8. Randy Bett
Investment Realtor/Author/Investor
Real Estate Professionals Inc.
Better Group Real Estate
202-5403 Crowchild Trail NW
Calgary, AB T3B 4Z1
Phone:403-774-7464 Ext:1
Fax:403-208-0082
Toll Free fax:888-711-6801
