Once you receive your credit report, check it over carefully for errors and outdated information. Although correcting the information costs you nothing, it may require persistence. You can try to correct an error by taking any of the following steps:

• Follow the instructions on the report to tell the credit-reporting agency and the organization that provided the information to the credit-reporting agency about the mistake.
• Telephone the agency about the mistake.
• Explain the problem in a brief letter.

If the agency finds that the information in the report is wrong, then it's the creditor's responsibility to notify other major credit-reporting agencies of the error, so they can correct their information, too.

(c) 2006. National Endowment for Financial Education. All rights reserved.