Credit report mistakes

Credit reports are designed to reflect your financial history, including your accounts, balances, and payments. Unfortunately, these reports often contain mistakes. For this reason, it is a good idea to comb over your report before you apply for a mortgage loan. That way, you can clear up any mistakes that might affect your application.

Note that most experts recommend that you peruse your credit report every year or so, whether or not you are applying for a mortgage. An annual check-up will help prevent identity theft and other problems that can go undetected.

There are several different kinds of mistakes that you should watch for. First, make sure that all of the accounts listed are in fact yours. Sometimes, an account belonging to someone else will surface on your report. Obviously, you want to get that account removed as soon as possible.

Another common mistake is an inaccurate payment history. While late payments are usually recorded on the report, it should also note that you are back on track with timely installments.

Whatever the mistake, you will need to alert the credit bureau. By law, they are required to investigate the problem. Usually, a mistake about payment history can be cleared up with relative ease. Larger problems, like identity theft, will probably take more time and effort through which to sort.

Once the problem is taken care of, you can ask the credit bureau to send out notices regarding the correction. That way, anyone who requested your credit report within the last six months will be notified of the change without having to re-order your file.