If you see a mistake in your credit report, contact both the credit reporting agency and the merchant, credit card company or other creditor that submitted the misinformation. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, both are responsible for correcting the error.

You can reach the credit-reporting agencies at www.equifax.com, www.experian.com and www.transunion.com.

First, write a letter to the agency explaining exactly what information is wrong. Include copies of documents to support your position. Include a copy of your credit report with the erroneous items highlighted. The credit bureaus generally must investigate within 30 days and forward the relevant data to the creditor that provided the information. The creditor must investigate and report the results back to the credit bureau. If the creditor decides the information is inaccurate, it must notify all three credit bureaus so they can correct the information.

For more detailed instructions, see http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre21.htm