No one can legally remove accurate negative information from a credit report. You can ask for a free investigation of information in your file that you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, both the credit reporting company and the information provider (that is, the person, company, or organization that provides information about you to a credit reporting company) are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. The credit company will verify the item in question with the creditor, who must respond within 30 days. After the investigation is complete, the credit reporting company will notify you of the outcome. If information on your credit report has changed or been deleted, you will receive a copy of the revised report.

Again, the bankruptcy courts do not provide information to the credit reporting companies. The credit reporting companies or information providers collect information regarding bankruptcy cases from the court’s public records. Once a case is filed with the bankruptcy court, that case becomes part of the court’s permanent records. No matter the status of your case (open, closed, discharged, dismissed, etc.) the credit reporting companies can still report your case on your credit report for up to ten years. The three credit reporting companies are:

• Equifax Information Services LLC, 1800-829-4577, www.equifax.com
• TransUnion LLC, 1800-888-4213, www.transunion.com
• Experian, 1-800-311-4769, www.experian.com