Facts and Fiction - Your Credit Report

Facts and Fiction about your Credit Report

- Credit Bureaus are run by the Government
Wrong, Credit Bureaus are not run by the government at all, and they do not have any legal authority pertaining to your finances. They are actually private companies who make money by selling your credit information to creditors/lenders. All three are publically traded companies on the stock market.
-Credit Bureaus are legally required to keep your credit information for 7 years.
True, it is a mandatory that after 7 years all disparaging items must be removed or if because of bankruptcy, then 10 years. However keep in mind that there is nothing legally binding that requires that they report anything on you at all.

- Bankruptcies are impossible to remove from your credit report.
Wrong, a bankruptcy can come off just like any other item that is either incorrectly reported, misleading, cannot be verified or derogatory.

- Information on your credit report cannot be altered.
Wrong, due to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) the laws require that items be completely removed if they cannot be verified 100% or are not able to be verified within a sensible time frame.

- It is illegal to have your credit report changed
Wrong, it is neither illegal or even considered immoral, the Fair Credit Reporting Act is there to protect the consumer and was implemented by the government.

- Paying past debt removes it from your credit report
Wrong, Just because you have paid off a debt that you once owed, does not necessarily remove the fact that you once owed a debt however with professional credit repair assistance, this can be fixed.

- Inquiries can affect your credit report
True, while one or two should not significantly do any damage, if there are multiple inquiries into your credit report, it gives off the feeling to a creditor that you are in desperate need of credit this in turn can actually harm your score.