Have you recently been declined a credit card or were required to provide a $500 security deposit for a cell phone? You were probably left wondering how your credit rating reported you as a risk. It's at this point you have hopefully made the choice to discover not only what your credit scores are, but to also determine what it is in your reports that have your scores so low.

It's only after you've received your credit report you discover erroneous, inaccurate or unfamiliar accounts. In fact, a study by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group found that 79% of all credit reports contained errors. These errors could be why you are not being approved for that credit card or that new car loan.

The single most important fact you should know is that under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the only information that can remain on your credit report is not what is accurate, but what can be proven as accurate. Since you did not provide the information contained within your report, it is not your responsibility to prove its accuracy, but rather, it is the creditors and/or collections agencies that must prove their information is accurate.

You have the right to dispute any information in your credit report. By disputing an account that you know is yours, you are not being dishonest. You are simply requesting the creditor and credit bureaus provide proof that it not only belongs on your report, but to prove it is 100% accurate. If they are unable to provide this proof, your federal rights are being violated and the information must be corrected or removed immediately. If this is the case, you may be able to seek damages against both the creditors and the credit bureaus. For this, you will want to consult an attorney who specializes in bad credit report repair.

You should know that the credit bureaus dislike such disputes. Due to the high number of errors they report, they must hire many people to handle these disputes. Since it costs nothing for consumers to dispute as many times as they wish, it's clear the credit bureaus make no money from these business transactions and in fact, are losing money because of them!

The credit bureaus make their money from selling your private information with no thought to whether the information they sell is accurate. It's to the bureau's advantage that you don't contact them regarding the accuracy of your report. It's no surprise they make it as difficult and confusing as possible to discourage you from disputing any information. Their goal is to sell your information, with no thought given to its accuracy. They care very little about the damage their actions cause your personal financial life. They're not paid to consider your position and how their business practices affect you.