Limiting mistakes on your credit report | News

On an Action News 5 report last week, Andy reported that negative information stays on your credit report for seven years. Bankruptcies stay on your report even longer:  up to ten years.

That's why now is the time to review your credit report and not wait until something pops up. Odysseas Papadimitriou, CEO of the credit card comparison site CardHub.com., offered these tips for limiting errors on your credit report:

* REVIEW YOUR CREDIT REPORTS QUARTERLY. "We're all entitled to a free copy of each of our major credit reports once every 12 months," said Papadimitriou. "Look at one report each quarter."

Scan your reports for open lines of credit you're not losing or have closed, addresses where you never lived and unfamiliar credit inquiries.

"It's also important to note that there's no need to order your credit score," Papadimitriou said. "Not only do lenders all use proprietary credit scoring models, but the hundreds of scores out there are all based first and foremost on your credit report information.

"If your credit report is right, your credit scores will be, too."

* BUILD YOUR CREDIT.  "The Federal Trade Commission found that 26 percent of credit reports contained errors, yet only 5.2 percent contained errors that would lead to increased costs for the consumer," he said. "The more positive information you have in your credit files (and the more balanced your debt-to-credit ratio), the less harm any errors that pop up will do you."

* KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. Familiarize yourself not only with your access rights to your credit reports, but also your rights to your credit scores and what can and cannot be included in your reports. Click on CardHub.com's Credit Report & Credit Score Consumer Bill of Rights for a list of your guaranteed protections.