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Get Items Removed From Credit Report
By Susan Doktor MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
Your credit report is a personal financial record that details your credit-related comings and goings. But while this summary is compiled using information supplied by your banks, lenders, and other financial institutions, it isn’t infallible. In fact, mistakes and inaccuracies are not only possible — they’re common.
If you come across negative items or inaccurate information in your credit report, it’s important to try to get them removed as quickly as possible so they no longer affect your credit score.
Correcting your own credit report may feel daunting. But if you come across negative items in your credit history, you may actually be able to remove them on your own.
Get a free copy of your credit report
The first step is to see what negative items appear on your credit history. You’ll need to obtain a copy of your credit report, ideally from each of the three major credit bureaus (Transunion, Experian, and Equifax). The information on these three reports should be similar, but that’s not always the case.
To get your reports without charge, visit AnnualCreditReport.com. This is the only government-approved website for requesting free annual credit reports. Beware of lookalikes.
By federal law, Americans are allowed to request one free copy of their credit report from each of these bureaus every 12 months. Additionally, now through 2026, everyone in the United States can visit the Equifax website or call 1-866-349-5191 to open a myEquifax account. Account holders can request up to six additional credit reports each year from the bureau.
Other ways to get your credit report
In addition to requesting your credit report(s) as described above, there are other ways to obtain your credit history.
You can:
- Sign up for credit reporting and credit monitoring through one of the bureaus. Some offer this as free service while others charge a monthly/membership fee.
- Request a copy of your report if you are denied credit, an insurance policy, or even a job due to your credit history.
- Request a copy through one of many agencies and consumer reporting companies, especially if your credit has been run through them in recent years. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) maintains a list of many of these companies, along with what you’ll need in order to qualify for a copy of your credit report.
- Receive a copy if you’ve recently placed a fraud alert on your credit report.
File a dispute with the credit reporting agency
If you find an error — or a negative entry that you don’t believe should be on your credit history — the simplest way to remove it is to file a dispute with whichever credit reporting agency is listing the entry on your report.
To do so, you’ll usually need to provide the following information:
- Your personal and contact information
- The confirmation number of the credit report that shows the disputed item
- Information about the item including what you’re disputing, why it should be removed, and any evidence related to your claim
All three credit reporting bureaus allow you to dispute information online, over the phone, or by mail. If the item in question shows up on more than one credit report, you’ll need to dispute it separately with each agency.
How to file a dispute online
To file a dispute online, you’ll need to visit the appropriate credit reporting bureau’s website. To do so, you can visit:
There, you’ll find online forms where you can enter your information, note which negative item(s) you’re disputing, and submit your dispute.
How to file a dispute letter
You can also dispute one or more items on your credit history by mail. To do this, you’ll need to write a letter explaining which item you’re disputing and why you’re disputing it. You’ll also want to provide any evidence you have to substantiate your claim. Both Equifax and Transunion provide a dispute letter template on their website to make this process easier. You’ll want to include a copy of your credit report and any supporting documents you may have. Just be sure that you don’t send any originals – you might not get them back! Once you’ve got all your documents in order, send them to:
- Experian, P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013
- Equifax Information Services LLC, P.O. Box 740256, Atlanta, GA 30348
- TransUnion LLC, Consumer Dispute Center, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016
File a dispute directly with the creditor
If you believe that the reporting creditor made a mistake, you may be able to remove the entry by contacting them directly. It may be a simple matter for them to search their electronic records and verify your claim, so this can often be a good place to start.
Taking this course of action is especially helpful if your dispute relates to things like a late payment that was actually received on time or an incorrect balance. You may also be able to get your creditor to remove information about an account that appears on your credit history but doesn’t actually belong to you. If you find such an entry on your report, you may also want to place a fraud alert with the credit bureaus.
If the creditor is unable or unwilling to correct your credit information from their end, you can still file a claim with one or more of the credit reporting agencies.
Review the claim results
After you file a claim with Transunion, Experian, or Equifax, an investigation will begin. The credit bureau will research your claim and reach out to the reporting company/original creditor to request proof of the information on your record. In the interim, the negative report may be temporarily removed from your credit history while it’s investigated.
If the creditor is unable to validate the item, it will likely be removed from your credit history permanently. However, if they are able to prove that the report is correct, your claim will likely be denied.
If your claim is denied, you can often file an appeal. Unless your claim is deemed “frivolous,” the credit bureaus are required by federal law to reinvestigate it, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Hire a credit repair service
If you’re unable to remove an erroneous credit report item, a credit repair service that knows how to repair bad credit and/or remove negative reports might be a good resource to turn to. Understand, though, that success is not guaranteed, and the service comes at a cost. If you see a credit repair service that “guarantees” to boost your credit score or to remove negative entries on your credit record, run away fast. Numerous CFPB complaints have been filed against credit repair companies by consumers who claim that they were the victims of a credit repair scam.
Also, if you choose to go this route, note that while some credit repair services will ask for payment upfront, the Credit Repair Organizations Act actually makes it illegal for them to do so. Further, if you were persuaded to engage a credit repair service through a telemarketing call, the Telemarketing Sales Rule makes it illegal for the company to bill you until six months after the promised service was performed.
Common Credit Report Errors To Look Out For
Here are some of the most common credit-related errors that you’ll want to watch out for when reviewing your credit reports.
Mistaken identity
If you see an unfamiliar account on your credit — or the account balance, credit limit, or payment history doesn’t match your records — it may just be a case of mistaken identity.
Contact the reporting creditor to see if you can iron out the situation. Sometimes the problem is caused by something as simple as sharing a name with another consumer. Or the credit bureau may be mixing up your contact information with that of another consumer, even if the rest of the account’s reporting is correct.
If that’s not the case, you may want to look into placing a fraud alert on your credit and investigating whether your identity has been compromised.
Incorrect account status
There are many errors that can occur related to account status. For example, you could be showing up as a primary cardholder when you’re just an authorized user on your parents’ account. Or your account could show as open when you actually closed it years ago.
Other possible scenarios include incorrect dates, late payments that were actually applied on time, or duplicate accounts. Many of these errors can be corrected with the creditor directly, though you can also dispute them with the credit reporting agencies if needed.
Data management
Sometimes, an erroneous item will reappear on your credit record even after it was removed. In that case, you’ll need to contact the reporting agency to have it removed again; they will reach out to the creditor on your behalf.
There’s also the possibility of the same debt appearing more than once, often with a different creditor listed. This can happen if you have a debt that was assigned to a collection agency and which was subsequently transferred to a different collection agency. If there is a duplicate, it can amplify the impact that any late payments or collections entries have on your credit score, so it’s important to file a dispute.
Balance
There can be an error reported that relates to your account balance(s). This error could be in the form of:
- An incorrect current balance
- An incorrect lifetime account maximum balance
- Incorrect credit limit(s)
Each of these can generally be fixed by the creditor, though you may also choose to file a dispute with the reporting agency.
Negative Credit Report Entries That Impact Your Score The Most
It’s never good to have negative items on your credit, but some negative credit items will depress your score more than others. Here are the ones that are most important to avoid.
- Delinquent accounts
- Too many hard inquiries
- Foreclosure
- Charge-offs
- Repossession
- Judgments
- Collections
Can I Dispute Accurate Information From My Credit Report?
What if you have (valid) negative entries on your credit history that you simply want removed because they depress your credit score and restrict your ability to open new credit accounts? In some cases, even if those entries are accurate, you may still be able to get them deleted.
Send a request for “goodwill deletion”
One way to get an accurate but negative entry on your credit history removed is to appeal to the creditor’s desire to keep you as a customer. Let’s say that you’ve had the same credit card for 10 years and dutifully managed the account. But three years ago, you went through a rough patch and were unable to pay one of your monthly bills. That late payment has been a big red mark on your credit report ever since – and you want it gone.
In this case, you may be able to request a goodwill deletion from the credit card issuer directly. The worst they can say is no. In a “goodwill letter” to the creditor, mention your previous (and current) history with them, explain why the negative incident occurred, and provide any other information relevant to your plea. If you’ve been a great customer who’s paid on-time ever since that one incident, the creditor might just be willing to remove the entry as a courtesy. However there’s no requirement that they do so.
Work with a credit counseling agency
Another option is to work with a credit counseling agency. These agencies may be able to help you if you have previous and/or current delinquent accounts or negative reports.
For instance, if you have an old credit account that went to paid collection (meaning the bill is past due, so the creditor eventually wrote it off as a loss and/or sold it to a debt collector), this can significantly depress your score and creditworthiness. A credit counseling agency may be able to help you negotiate that debt with the creditor so that you can pay it off for a portion of what you owe. Once the bill has been settled, the entry on your credit record doesn’t do as much harm to your FICO score as it did when the account was still outstanding. In this scenario, the creditor gets some money and you no longer have an unpaid collections account on your credit history.
Are pay-for-delete negotiations worth it?
If you have an account that was sent to collections, it can stay on your credit report for up to seven years. This is the case whether the account was eventually paid or if you never paid a penny. But potential creditors can see if the account is paid or unpaid– and that can factor into their lending decisions.
A collections agency may be willing to entertain a pay-for-delete, where you pay some or all of that debt in exchange for them deleting the item from your credit report.
Not all creditors are willing to do so, but it can be worth trying to negotiate. Just be sure that if the company does agree to a pay-for-delete, you get it in writing before making a payment. If you pay off the debt and they never delete it, you’ll have no recourse; you’ll simply have a paid delinquent account instead of an unpaid one on your credit history.
Avoid the Following Strategies
If you want to improve your credit — especially if you have negative items on your report(s) — there are a few things you’ll want to avoid.
Closing a line of credit that is already behind on payments
If you have an account that’s already reporting late payments, some damage has already been done. However, if you close the account, you may actually compound that damage rather than making it better.
There are four reasons for this:
- Just because you close the account doesn’t mean all record of it disappears. In fact, that account history will follow you for another seven years before dropping off your credit history — so you’ll be stuck with those late payment reports anyway.
- Once you close the account, you’ll no longer be able to demonstrate that you corrected the issue by making payments on time again. You’ll also need to promptly pay the account down to zero to avoid the account balance from being charged off (which can really hurt your credit).
- Your closed account will still factor into your average age of accounts (AAoA), which makes up about 10% of your credit score, until it eventually falls off at the seven-year mark. Once that happens, your AAoA could be adversely affected.
- Even though a closed account will remain on your credit report for a while, the credit limit it had will no longer be included in your credit utilization ratio. Depending on your other accounts and balances, this could depress your credit score by making it appear that you are using a larger percentage of your available credit – something that prospective lenders don’t look kindly on.
Filing for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a last-ditch effort and should only be used if you have exhausted all other means of managing your debts.
Even though filing for bankruptcy can help you discharge certain financial obligations, the impact will be harsh and long-lasting. You may well lose property and other assets that you own. Your credit score will tank. And you may find that co-signers (if applicable) are still obligated to pay off your debts
Impact of bankruptcy on your credit report
Unlike a late payment, which follows you for just seven years, a bankruptcy can follow you for up to 10 years. The impact on your credit can be substantial, especially since any discharged debts will show up as such on your credit report.
Future creditors will see bankruptcy as very different than making a few late payments, and your credit rating will likely take many years to recover. Just seeing a bankruptcy can also cause potential lenders in the future to decline your applications or offer you less favorable terms when trying to open new accounts.
Impact of Identity Theft on Your Credit Report
If you see items on your credit report that you don’t recognize, it may be the result of identity theft. If your identity has been stolen or otherwise compromised, the damage done can be difficult and frustrating to repair.
How to remove negative items related to identity theft
Before disputing negative items related to identity theft, you should put a fraud alert on your credit reports. This will notify the agencies that you believe fraud exists and will flag your accounts for any suspicious activity.
You can then attempt to get those erroneous reports removed, whether by disputing the entries with the credit bureaus or by contacting the creditors directly.
Identity theft can pose very serious consequences for you and your credit history, so it’s vital to create a plan for dealing with it as soon as you discover that your personal information has been stolen.
COVID-19 and Credit Repair: What You Should Know
Many Americans were financially affected by COVID-19 and its aftereffects. For this reason, many lenders and creditors offered payment flexibility to borrowers, forbearance and deferment options on loans, and/or a moratorium on reporting late or missed payments for a period of time.
The CARES Act also provided consumers with many accommodations, as well as hardship and/or relief programs. If you participated in one of these programs — or if you established an agreement with a creditor that allowed for deferment, forbearance, or minimized payments — your creditor should not be able to report any negative account history during that time period.
Removing Items from Your Credit Report Summed Up
Your credit history is a vital collection of personal information. While at one time your credit info was used primarily to qualify you for loans, mortgages, and credit cards, today it can also be used:
- As part of your employment application
- To help landlords determine whether to rent to you
- To set auto and homeowners insurance rates
- As part of a background check for certain state and federal licenses
- To determine whom to date or marry
For those reasons and more, your credit history is worth defending and correcting.
