First of all, make few copies for each of the credit reports you obtained. You want to write on copies not the originals. If you initiate a dispute, you will send the original credit reports. So keep them clean.
Duplicate and unfamiliar accounts
Look for any duplicate accounts. You may have quite a few if you recently did some consolidation. College graduates consolidate student loans very actively these days thanks to the lowest rates in decades and many loan accounts are listed with two creditors.
If you find any account you don't recognize, it could mean that someone stole your identity. Identity theft is becoming an everyday occurrence. It is a serious crime and can cost you great deal of money, time and nerves. Read all you need to know about identity theft on these pages:
Identity theft
Identity theft protection
Stop identity theft part 1
Stop identity theft part 2
Stop identity theft part 3
Stop identity theft part 4
Social security protection
Identity theft computer
Negative credit indicators
Look for any records that have any of the following:
- any item marked with an asterisk any inquiry
- any item rated higher than I1, M1, O1 or R1 such as R2 or I9 - see all negative credit indicators
- any item listed as repossession or foreclosure
- any item listed as profit and loss write-off or charge-off, settled, settled for less than full balance, or included in bankruptcy
- any paid or not paid collection amount
- any court account, including a lien, judgment, bankruptcy chapters 7, or 13, divorce, satisfied lien, or satisfied judgment
- any item showing one or more thirty, sixty, or ninety day late payments in the far right column
- inquires and Hawk alerts
Now you can start an actual dispute with Credit Reporting Agencies.
