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How long do credit bureaus have to respond?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act stipulates that the credit bureaus must complete an investigation within 30 days of receiving a dispute letter. However, the credit bureaus have the right to consider a dispute letter "frivolous and irrelevant" at their own discretion. While the credit bureaus are careful not to overuse this privilege, they may deem virtually any dispute frivolous or irrelevant without having to justify their decision.

Should I get a written confirmation when settling debts?

Most definitely. Whenever you settle or pay off a disputed debt, always get a written agreement from the creditor or collection agency before you send payment. It is not unusual for collection agents to lie about settlement terms in order to get their money, then demand the remainder of the debt once the payment has been collected.

How do I maintain my excellent credit score?

Of the increasingly few consumers with excellent credit, many may not know exactly how they obtained that score. To maintain or even achieve an excellent credit score, here are a few tips:

Do joint credit cards help build good credit?

When another person adds you to a credit card as an authorized user, the credit card company places the account on your credit report as well. Often, the account will carry a note indicating that you are an authorized user rather than the primary cardholder. Even so, this serves to substantially improve your credit history. On the other hand, the account will not typically show up with the entire account history, but will show only from the time you were added as an authorized user.

How do you go about obtaining new credit?

Since only a few negative listings are enough to earn you a rejection from most creditors, your first priority should be to repair your negative credit. If you do not have any negative credit and are looking to build good credit, you can apply for a credit card specifically for the purpose of establishing credit.

Will I be notified before a debt is reported?

In most states, a creditor does not have to inform you before they report a negative listing on your credit report.

Is it legal to remove items from your credit report?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1971 and 1997 gives consumers the right to dispute their credit reports and to have any item deleted that is inaccurate, obsolete or unverifiable. The key issue on most credit reports is the verifiability of the disputed credit. Can the creditor verify the reported listing? Is the creditor willing to go into their microfiche archives in order to back up credit bureau information? Is the credit bureau even willing to commission the investigation?

What is TransUnion's Phone Number?

Phone numbers for credit reporting agencies (CRA's), such as Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, are often hard to come by. Sometimes the best thing to do is to get through to someone, anyone, explain your situation, and ask them to direct you to the right department.

Here are some phone numbers to try to reach TransUnion:

TransUnion's Phone Numbers:
Disputes:   800-916-8800
Fax:   610-546-4605 or 610-546-4758

What is Equifax's Phone Number?

Phone numbers for credit reporting agencies (CRA's), such as Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, are often hard to come by. Sometimes the best thing to do is to get through to someone, anyone, explain your situation, and ask them to direct you to the right department.

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