How to Remove a Public Record Debt From Your Credit Report
Any information reported to the credit bureaus that ends up on your credit report will impact your credit score. Public records of events connected to unpaid debts, such as judgments, bankruptcies or foreclosures have a negative effect on your credit rating. Fortunately, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) places limitations on the amount of time any entry can remain on file with the credit bureaus. In addition, the FCRA provides all consumers with a dispute method intended to help them clear up credit reporting errors.
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Instructions
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Pull a copy of your credit report from each credit bureau. Because each credit bureau records different information, the public record may appear on only one or all three of your credit reports. The FCRA grants you the right to pull one free credit report each year from each company. You can also purchase your credit records directly from each credit bureau's website.
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Locate the "Public Information" section of each credit report. The Public Information section is dedicated solely to public records. Circle any public records that you do not recognize.
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Compare the dates of the public records you find and recognize as legitimate to the current date to determine if the federal reporting period noted by the FCRA has already expired. For example, the FCRA notes that a bankruptcy can remain on file with the credit bureaus for 10 years. A bankruptcy case you filed in 1998, therefore, must be removed in 2008. Circle any public records for which the reporting period has expired.
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Make a copy of each credit bureau's report that contains inaccurate public records.
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Write a letter to each credit bureau that maintains inaccurate public records within your credit file. Note the inaccuracies that you discovered. Request that each credit bureau remedy its error.
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Mail your letter and a copy of your credit report to each credit bureau. The FCRA requires that the credit bureaus investigate each disputed item and remove any items that it cannot validate as accurate.
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Tips & Warnings
Your ability to dispute errors isn't limited to public records. You have the right to dispute any incorrect information you find on your credit report.
Double-check your disputes before mailing them to ensure that each credit bureau receives a copy of its own report, rather than the report of another bureau.
Disputing any item on your credit report repeatedly will result in the credit bureaus disregarding your dispute as "frivolous" and not investigating your claim.
