credit bureaus and credit reports?

Well there are some things (and some misinformation) that needs to be addressed first.

1) Depending upon who you use to monitor your credit reports, you are most likely to get outdated information or incorrect information. Many of those monitoring sites are not accurate. I myself pay the higher price and use FICO.

I will still use https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

and get my free yearly reports from each of the three.

2) Even though you have paid off the debts, they are still reported for the time period allowed under the FCRA. Collection accounts, charged off accounts and even accounts paid in settlement remain for 7 1/2 years from date of last missed payment (see source).

3) Not every creditor reports to all 3 agencies but most do. This is why your scores vary between the 3 agencies. Also they each use a different formula to compute ones score.

Here is the definition of a credit score:

FACTA defines a “credit score” as:

A numerical value or categorization derived from a statistical tool or modeling system used by a person who makes or arranges a loan to predict the likelihood of certain credit behaviors, including default (and the numerical value or the categorization derived from such analysis may also be referred to as a “risk predictor” or “risk score” (FCRA §609(f)(2))

(see what I mean about the confusion in scores)!

You should continue to monitor your reports and even file a dispute if they are not shown as being paid. You will have to provide copies of the page that reflects the entry in question as well as documentation to show it has been paid.

4) MYTH #4: Paying off your debts will instantly repair your credit score.

Your credit score is a measure of your past performance, not your current debt load. Paying off your credit cards and settling any outstanding loans will certainly help, but if you have a history of late or missed payments, it won’t undo the damage overnight. Improving your credit score takes time, so after paying down your debts, make an effort to consistently pay your bills on time.

Hope this helps answer your question.

The places you have contacted are required by law to report accounts being paid and your issue is with the bureau's. You have to be patient when cleaning up your credit reports, Here's an example:

If the company you paid posted your payment before the 25th of the month, you can bet that it was reported that month, if the payment was posted after the 25th, it may not be reported until the next months close due to weekend dates, holidays, etc. so that amount of time right there is 35-40 days later than when you made your payment. Now the bureau's technically have up to 45 days to reflect any changes to your report and once again, depending on when the bureau received this information, due to weekends, holidays, etc. it may not effect your report for up to 90 days later. I know you didn't want to hear all of that but maybe that will help your understanding of the system and unfortanutly you can not dispute the bureaus. With that in mind, look ahead to good things come to those who wait! Good luck

My husband and I are in the same boat, looking forward to be homeowners soon and monitoring our scores. I suggest you dispute the information on each credit bureau. Sometime you get lucky and find the right number and they will help you fast. Other times it will take a couple of months. Just don't give up. Also read about the debt to ratio status on your accounts. It makes a difference and can affect your score immensely if your debt to ratio status is not good. It affect mine from a 642 to a 608. Search: what affects my FICO

The FTC ( see link) offers great info for working on your credit. You will need to send letters to the credit bureaus asking for the corrections on your credit report. You will find that all 3 credit scores are always different.

what u can do is look @ each credit report & call each creditor u pd. when u do, u'll need copies of each pmt receipt that u sent 2 each creditor. the BEST thing 2 have is a bank record printout of when those pmts were sent & cashed. this is how i caught cap 1 tryin 2 defraud me of unowed $$$. they tried 2 claim that i pd L8 when clearly i didn't. finally, it dawned on me 2 go tell the bank what was happening & they got me printouts of ALL the pmts that i sent & when they were casht. this'll come in handy when u call each credit bureau 2 dispute/update each acct. some creditors delay updating accts; or they may leave it alone. this is when u need 2 report these pd accts yerself. the credit bureaus will investig8 2 c how accur8 yer info is & by law, the accts must B kept updated. if u can't get thru, then u can write them a letter. when writing u'll need;

name

address

ss#

acct #

check / m.o. #

if pd by cc then have a reciept handy from yer bank

creditor name

when u made pmts (dates, amts, etc)

updated info on accts u pd