Clean up your credit -- take steps to fix errors on your credit report

Under federal law, you have a right to receive certain information in connection with a credit decision. If you find incorrect information in your credit history, you can take steps to correct it and get your financial life back on track.

Use Nolo's Request Explanation of Unfavorable Credit Offer or Action legal form to find out the following information: 

• the nature of a credit decision
• the specific, principal reasons for an adverse credit decision, or your right to request those reasons within 60 days
  
• the identity of the reporting agency providing the information on which it relied on making a credit decision
• the credit report from the reporting agency (within 60 days)

Armed with this information, you can then dispute incorrect or incomplete entries in your credit report, one of the first crucial steps toward repairing your credit and getting your finances in order.

For more thorough information on cleaning up your credit, check out Credit Repair , Nolo's bestselling guide to living debt-free.