How long information may appear on a credit report:
• Positive information – indefinitely
• Inquiries – 6 months to 2 years
• Most negative information – 7 years
• Bankruptcies – 7 – 10 years depending on the type of bankruptcy filed
If you find errors in your credit report, you may dispute the information and request that the information be deleted or corrected. To do so, you should contact either the credit bureau that provided the report or the company or person that provided the incorrect information to the credit bureau.
To contact the credit bureau, call the toll-free number on your credit report or visit their website:
Equifax www.equifax.com/answers/correct-credit-report-errors/
Experian www.experian.com/disputes/
TransUnion www.transunion.com/
If you submit your dispute through a credit bureau or directly to the company or person that provided the incorrect information to the credit bureau, your dispute must be investigated, usually within thirty days. When the investigation is completed, either the credit bureau or the company or person that provided the incorrect information to the credit bureau must give you the written results of its investigation.
If the information provider finds the disputed information is inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide credit bureaus so they can correct the information in your credit report.
If an item is changed or deleted, a credit bureau cannot put the disputed information back in your credit report unless the company or person that provided the incorrect information to the credit bureau verifies that the information is, indeed, accurate and complete.