How To Clean Up Your Credit Score—5 Straightforward Steps
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As you become a responsible borrower and work toward building your credit history, you’ll find that your credit report may sometimes contain inaccurate or outdated information that may harm your score.
Failing to review your credit report and remove these inaccuracies or irrelevant information may affect your overall financial health and disqualify you from some premium opportunities. Having a healthy credit score is more than a financial achievement—it’s your gateway to better credit card deals, lower interest rates, convenient loan terms, and even housing options.
In this article, we show you how to clean up your credit score and improve your score quickly after the cleanup.
Can You Erase Bad Credit?
Yes, you can do a credit score cleanup to remove inaccuracies from your account, but it’s not a process that can be achieved overnight. Fixing bad credit could take months of back and forth between credit companies and lenders to verify that the information on your account is false. It will take some time for them to respond to your disputes, and some may even require further information from you to validate your claims.
Importantly, note that not all types of bad credit can be removed from your credit report. If the negative items or remarks on your report are legitimate and accurate, they can remain there for up to seven years before they’re deleted.
In some cases, you can petition the company to remove the negative information on your account by writing a goodwill letter to the creditor or negotiating a pay-for-delete term.
What Does Cleaning Up Your Report Mean?
Cleaning up your credit score means identifying and correcting any inaccurate or outdated information on your credit report. This helps you to improve your score, encouraging lenders to consider you for loans with good terms. A good credit score positions you as a trusted potential borrower with commendable credit maintenance habits.
The three major credit reporting agencies in the U.S., Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, have specific methods for disputing erroneous or inaccurate information. As you read further, you’ll find the processes for filing a dispute with each of them.
Why Should You Clean Up Your Credit?
Cleaning up your credit report has various financial benefits, a healthier score being one of them. A healthy credit score gives you access to:
- Lower insurance premiums—Insurance companies review your insurance score based on the information that makes up your FICO® credit score. If your credit score is low, your insurance score is likely low, too, meaning you’ll need to pay higher premiums. Cleaning up your report improves your score and qualifies you for lower premiums
- Favorable loan terms—A clean report gives you a better chance of getting your loan approved. With a credit score of over 670 points, you get the best credit cards, higher loan amounts, longer repayment periods, and lower fees
- More employment opportunities—Some employers review your credit score as part of their hiring process. For instance, if you work in finance-related roles, bad credit may disqualify you from getting job offers. With better credit come increased job offers in sensitive roles
- Lower interests—Healthier scores indicate that your finances are in order and that you make on-time payments. This could encourage lenders to offer you lower interest rates, which make it less expensive to borrow credit
- Improved housing options—When you apply for a mortgage, lenders review your credit to see how you repay loans. Landlords also check your credit for your payment history when you want to rent an apartment. Good credit keeps them at ease and willing to offer you the housing of your choice
How To Identify Errors on Your Credit Report
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has identified common errors that often appear in credit reports. They include:
- Identity errors—You may find errors in your personal information, including a wrong name, address, or phone number. There could also be information relating to another person with a similar name mixed into your file or erroneous details as a result of identity theft
- Incorrect account status—Your closed accounts may be presented as open on your report, or your payment may be incorrectly recorded as late or delinquent. The report may also list a debt more than once (with different names) or include a wrong payment date. It may list you as an account owner when you’re only an authorized user
- Data management and balance errors—Your report could contain negative information that should have been removed or list an incorrect current balance or credit limit
If you find errors like this on your account, use the appropriate cleanup steps to remove or rectify them.
How To Clean Up Your Credit Score Yourself
Removing and rectifying errors on your credit report could take some time, so you must start early. Here’s how to clean up your credit score yourself in five consumer-friendly steps:
- Request your credit report
- Thoroughly examine your report
- Dispute errors in your credit report
- Settle pending debts
- Use a credit repair service
Request Your Credit Report
Begin by requesting your credit reports from all major credit bureaus, including TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. An easy way to get your report is to visit the Annual Credit Report website or call 1-877-322-8228.
The three bureaus operate the site, which allows you to access your data for free once every 12 months. However, the bureaus do not share information among themselves, so your reports from each bureau may have slight variations.
To ensure your report stays accurate, space your requests throughout the year by requesting one from a different bureau every four months.
For example:
- January—Request a report from Equifax
- May—Request a report from Experian
- September—Request a report from TransUnion
This approach allows you to keep an up-to-date understanding of your credit situation year-round and detect problems early.
You can also order a report by mail from the same service and receive it within 15 days. Complete and print out the request form and then mail it to the following address:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
Thoroughly Examine Your Report
Once you receive your report, examine it thoroughly for the errors listed in the previous section, including account status, balance, identity, and data management errors. Pay attention to detecting incomplete and inaccurate information, too.
Although removing errors from your report may help raise your score, not all types of errors affect your score. For example, a wrongly spelled middle name or an incorrect workplace will not cause your score to dip.
Some errors could also cause your credit score to shoot up—for instance, having a well-managed credit account you don’t own on your report. It could give you a better debt-to-income ratio, causing your score to go up.
Derogatory remarks on your report (though accurate) could also portray you as a bad borrower. The negative remarks that have the most impact on your score include:
- Accounts in collections or written off as “uncollectible”
- Bankruptcy, foreclosures, and repossessions
- Late payments or delinquency
- Multiple hard inquiries
Note which bureau’s report includes the error or derogatory remark so you can handle each with the respective institution.
Dispute Errors in Your Credit Report
This is a vital step in the cleanup process. It requires disputing the errors you find by filing a claim with the concerned bureau over the phone, via mail, or online. Every bureau is expected to investigate the dispute within 30 days and then notify you of the results within five business days.
If you’re required to provide additional information during the investigation, the resolution can take up to 15 more days. Under federal law, the credit bureau and the company that provided the information are responsible for correcting the error.
Settle Pending Debts
If you have outstanding debts, especially on a credit card, work toward paying them off. This is important because the amount of debt you owe compared to your credit limit, also known as your credit utilization ratio, significantly affects your credit score.
A few ways to settle credit card debt include redeeming cash back rewards you’ve earned on your credit card or consolidating your debt with a personal loan. Personal loans don’t factor into utilization and can help pay off large debt and lower your credit utilization ratio.
Use a Credit Repair Service
A credit repair service may be able to assist in cleaning up your credit, but it usually comes at a high cost.
Many of their services and processes, including cleaning up errors and discrepancies, are activities you can do for free by yourself. However, these services charge unnecessary fees to do it on your behalf. In some states, such as Georgia, repair services are even considered illegal.
Many credit repair services have also been found to be fraudulent, so ensure you find a reliable one from the right source. If you need assistance finding one, consult your state’s Attorney General office, the U.S. Department of Justice, or the nearest consumer protection office.
How To File a Dispute With a Bureau or Lender
Filing a dispute with your lender or creditor is simple. Contact the business using the company’s contact details, which should be on your monthly billing statement. It’s part of the lender’s responsibility to correct errors on your report, just as it is the bureau’s.
Filing a dispute with a credit bureau takes a few more steps because each bureau has its own separate dispute process. You must contact each one directly to submit a dispute.
Filing a Dispute With a Bureau via Mail, by Phone, or Online
A popular method of correcting credit errors is to file a dispute via mail. Write a letter detailing the inaccuracies in your report or mail a dispute form to the relevant bureaus, along with documents that can back up your claim.
You can also submit an online dispute form or call the bureaus to follow up with the dispute. The table below provides the contact information for each bureau, depending on your preferred dispute method:
| Credit Bureau | Mailing Address | Phone Number | Online Form |
| Equifax | Equifax Information Services, LLC P.O. Box 740256 Atlanta, GA 30374-0256 | 1-888-378-4329 | Equifax online dispute form |
| Experian | Experian P.O. Box 4500 Allen, TX 75013 | 1-888-397-3742 | Experian online dispute form |
| TransUnion | TransUnion Consumer Solutions P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19022-2000 | 1-800-916-8800 | TransUnion online dispute form |
How To Dispute Negative Remarks Due to Identity Theft
If you think you’ve fallen victim to identity fraud, immediately file a dispute with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) via the official IdentityTheft.gov website or call 1-877-438-4338. File a police report as well, detailing the incident, along with any proof you have.
Contact the credit bureaus to dispute any information or activity on your report that doesn’t belong to you. Ask them to place a freeze and fraud alert on your account, then contact your credit issuer to close any compromised account to prevent greater damage to your score.
Improving Your Credit After Cleaning Your Report
After cleaning your report, you must be extra careful not to trigger any actions that cause more harm to your credit score. Follow these tips to improve your score safely:
- Avoid closing a credit line that’s late on payments—Closing a credit line that’s behind on payments can lower your credit score because it will increase your credit utilization. You’ll have less available credit and be flagged as a high-risk borrower. Try to keep your utilization rate below 30% to maintain or quickly boost your score
- Don’t file for bankruptcy—A bankruptcy can seriously damage your score, reducing it by up to 200 points. It can also negatively impact your ability to get loan approvals for years until your score goes back up. Only file for bankruptcy as a last option
- Use a credit building solution—A trusted credit building solution like CreditStrong helps you build credit fast with its various account types. Unlike credit repair services, it offers a safer way to improve your credit score. You can use its revolving line of credit with a savings account to quickly lower your utilization and gain up to a 62-point score increase
CreditStrong—Your Reliable Credit Building Partner
CreditStrong is a credible FDIC-insured platform by Austin Capital Bank that helps you build credit from scratch or past damage. It works directly with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, promptly reporting your on-time payments to ensure total transparency.
To build your credit, CreditStrong offers you two options:
- A secured consumer installment loan
- A revolving line of credit
Combine any of these options with a savings account, and you’ll be able to build your credit score and grow your savings alongside it. The platform allows you to check your FICO Score for free every month to track your progress.
CreditStrong Accounts & How They Work
There are three key CreditStrong accounts—Instal, Revolv, and MAGNUM. Here’s how they work:
| Account Type | How It Works | Average Credit Score Increase | Ideal For |
| Instal/CS Max | Instal provides a secured installment loan that builds credit through on-time payments put into a savings account. CS Max helps build larger and longer credit over 60 months | 45 points | Beginners with limited credit and individuals who want to establish a credit history |
| MAGNUM | Offers a special installment account designed to build up to $30,000 of credit through consistent payments on a larger loan | 86 points | Users who wish to unlock higher credit, access better financial deals, and boost their score significantly |
| Revolv | Comes with a secured revolving line of credit at 0% utilization, boosting your total available credit and lowering your overall utilization | 62 points | Users with high credit card balances and consumers looking to improve their utilization and grow their savings |
Regardless of the account you choose, your payment history is the largest factor determining how well your score will increase. If you maintain consistent on-time payments and avoid missing a payment, your score will go up.
Steps for Opening a CreditStrong Account
Opening a CreditStrong account is simple. You can activate one even with a low credit score without triggering a hard inquiry when you apply, so applying for a CreditStrong account will not hurt your credit.
To open your account, take the following steps:
- Get started here
- Choose from the three products based on your credit goal:
- MAGNUM—Starting at $30 a month
- Revolv—$99 a year
- Instal—Starting at $28 a month
- Submit an online application via the provided form
- Track your progress, savings, and payments in your dashboard
CreditStrong helps improve your credit and can positively impact the factors that determine 90% of your FICO score.
