FCRA, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, requires creditors to furnish you with a free copy of your credit report
upon request. You are entitled to one free report per week from each bureau, (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion).
Lenders use this to determine your interest rate and eligibility. A higher score gets you better rates. 

What To Do
1. Get your free official credit report: from all three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
Go to www.AnnualCreditReport.com). This is the only officially authorized site. 

2. Check Your Reports for Errors: Go through each report line by line. Look for: 

o Incorrect Account Information: Accounts that aren’t yours, incorrect balances, or wrong
credit limits. 

o Inaccurate Negative Items: Late payments that you believe you paid on time.

o Outdated Information: Negative items that are more than 7 years old (or 10 years for
some bankruptcies). They must be removed by law.
o Duplicate Accounts: The same debt listed multiple times, especially in collections.
o Inquiries You Don’t Recognize: Hard inquiries from lenders you never applied to.
3. Dispute Errors with the Credit Bureaus:
o For each error you find, file a formal dispute in writing with the specific credit bureau
(Equifax, Experian, TransUnion). You can often do this online, but sending a certified mail
dispute letter is often most effective.
o Be specific: Clearly identify the item, state why it is inaccurate, and request its deletion or
correction. Include copies (NOT originals) of any supporting documents.
o The credit bureau then has 30-45 days to investigate your claim by contacting the data
furnisher (the lender/collector). 

4. Dispute Directly with the Furnisher: 

o You can also send a dispute letter directly to the company that provided the inaccurate
information to the credit bureau (e.g., the bank or collection agency).
o This creates a second line of attack. If the furnisher confirms the information is wrong, they
must notify all three credit bureaus to correct it. 

5. For accurate negative items (like collections accounts): 

o If the negative item is legitimate, your best strategy is often a “Pay-for
Delete” negotiation.
o Contact the collection agency and offer to pay the debt (or a settled amount) in
exchange for them completely removing the collection account from your credit reports. 

6. Establish Positive Payment History: 

o Your payment history is the biggest factor in your FICO score (35%), so, pay every bill on
time, every time.
o Set up autopay for at least the minimum payment to ensure you’re never late. 

7. Lower Your Credit Utilization: 

o This is the second most important factor (30%). This is the ratio of your credit card
balances to your credit limits.
o Aim to keep your utilization below 30%, and ideally below 10%.
o You can lower it by paying down balances and/or asking for credit limit increases (but only
if you aren’t tempted to spend more). 

8. Become an Authorized User: 

o Ask a family member with a long, positive credit history and low credit card balances to
add you as an authorized user on their account. Their good history can be imported onto
your credit report. 

9. Consider a Secured Credit Card: 

o If you can’t get a traditional card, a secured card (where you make a cash deposit as
collateral) is an excellent tool to build positive payment history.
• Credit Repair Scams: Any company that guarantees to erase accurate negative
information, asks for payment upfront, or tells you not to contact the credit bureaus
directly is a scam. (This is what the earlier “FIO SORE” strategy falls under).
• Disputing Accurate Information: Filing frivolous disputes on items you know are
accurate is a waste of time and can be considered fraudulent.
• “Credit Sweeps” or “New Identity” Schemes: These are illegal and can result in
serious penalties.
“Credit Cleaning” Process: What to AVOID 

The real “FICO cleaning process” is a methodical legal strategy of:
1. Identifying and disputing inaccuracies in your reports.
2. Negotiating the removal of accurate negatives where possible (Pay-for-Delete).
3. Building new, positive credit habits to outweigh past mistakes.
This is not a quick fix, but with diligence, it is the most effective way to genuinely improve your
financial standing and your FICO score.