I recently heard about free credit reports offered under the new
amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and living in California,
went ahead and got my report.  When I did this, I found several
entries on my report that made a lot of previous events in my life
suddenly make sense!

I am very responsible with money, but even so I have been shocked the
few times I applied for credit at the strongly favorable reactions I
have received.  But now, with my credit report, I can see that I have
had a credit card history going back to 1974 (I was born a good six
years after this!), and what is more, as a very young child allowed to
take out a credit card with a 12,00 dollar limit.  Both of these
accounts have never been paid late, and I believe are partially
responsible for my credit score being so high at such a young age.

Now, these entries that do not belong to me have been sitting on my
credit report since I was a teenager, and I do not think them to be
identity fraud, but simple mistakes, because neither account has ever
been paid late.  I have gone through the steps of having them removed
from the three major credit reports.

My question is, how is removal this going to affect my credit both in
the immeadiate future and long term?  At this time, I am trying to
move to a new apartment.  Will the landlords be able to check my
credit?  Will it show up unfavorably that I am disputing these two
items?  In the long term, will my credit rating drop because of this? 
Are there any other steps I should be taking?  Thank you in advance
for your help!

Hi there,

I have created a free website to help people remove incorrect
information from their credit reports. CreditLiberty.com also has
information on credit laws, dealing with collection agencies, and
more. All from my own personal experience.

Yes, the landlords can see your credit. The investigation process on a
disputed item is 30 days, unless using a FACTA report, then it is 45
days.

<a href="http://www.creditliberty.com">CreditLiberty.com</a>

Not sure if the html worked but I tried to make an easy link for you to follow. 

Your credit score goes up and down often. If you have incorrect
negative information, dispute it now.

Sorry, to clarify, I realize landlords can and will check my credit. 
However, I was advised by one of the credit bureaus not to have anyone
check my credit until the dispute was settled, and I wasn't entirely
sure what was meant by that, or if it would affect my being able to
move at this time.

Also, I realize my credit score goes up and down, but the incorrect
information isn't negative!  That is what I find (relatively) amusing
about the situation.

Thank you for your comment.

There is a good chance removing the items from your report will cause
your credit score to go down. The reason is the length of time credit
has been established is a factor in determining your score. However if
you take care of business and pay your accounts on time the move in
the score should not be too great.

Besides the accounts are not yours and what if that person for some
reason had his financial life go in the tank? You would not want to be
saddled with the bad score this would create. Best remove them and
keep only your accounts over which you have some control.

As for the landlord or some other person seeing the disputed items in
your report, you can easily explain them. Your situation, though
rather unique, points up the fact that we all should look at our
credit report regularly. Especially before a big credit event, such as
applying for loans, buying life insurance, employment change, or, as
in your case, moving to a new apartment.

While you can recieve free credit reports once a year under the new
federal legislation you should check it more often considering the
huge rise in the crime of identity theft. Regular checking can alert
you to any potential damage before it becomes a disaster. I'm sure all
will work out well for you. Good luck

David Wilding
http://www.debtattack.com/identity-theft.html
Changing Attitudes Toward And
Acceptance Of Personal Debt.

Oops,

I posted the wrong link. Try this instead:

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/money/credit/score.html

Cheers

Due to the credit being well established, there is a strong chance
removing these items will cause your credit score to drop; however, if
you wish limit any damage, it is important to maintain a solid credit
rating after the items are removed, you must continue to pay your
accounts on time and maintain a favorable debt to income ration. If
this is done, I would not anticipate a large drop.

It is better to have these items removed from your credit report for
the simple fact that the accounts are not yours and you do not have
any form of control over them. If this person were to stop making
payments, receive a judgment against them, or even file for bankruptcy
your credit would be suffer.

It is important to realize that if questions were to arise with your
future landlord that you can justifiably explain them. Make sure that
you keep copies of all your paperwork. That is crucial. Additionally,
make sure that you examine your credit report on a regular basis and
take action immediately when you find discrepancies. I would recommend
checking your credit report at least every three months! Regular
monitoring of your credit report can do nothing but help you stay
informed. Best of luck and I hope that all works out well for you in
the future.

If you have specific questions about credit reporting and how it all
works, please feel free to review the following article. It should
answer all your credit reporting questions.

http://www.debtregret.com/articles/creditreporting.html

Alan Barnes
IAPDA Certified Debt Arbitrator and
President and CEO of Debt Regret
http://www.debtregret.com