Can I get this account back on my credit report?

September 19, 2011 10:06 AM

I accidentally removed an item from my credit report, and I want it back. Is this possible?

I'm getting ready to buy a new car (my first!). So, I pulled my credit report to make sure everything was as it should be. I noticed that there was an account on the report that I had never heard of before, with a bank I have never used and had been opened when I was far too young to be doing any banking. So I submitted a dispute with the credit bureau.

After the fact, I was talking to my parents about the situation, and they reminded me that they had added me as an authorized user to one of their accounts last year. So the account in question was actually legitimate, and probably helping my credit score by giving me a longer credit history. Oops. The credit bureau has already removed the item from my report. I contacted their customer service to see if I could reverse the dispute, and they said that authorized users "don't have to be reported." But what if I want it reported? Is there a way to have this account re-added to my report? What do I need to do to accomplish this?

posted by anonymous to work & money (3 answers total)

A more pertinent question for you is what is your credit score right now?

If it is sufficiently high, this account will not matter.

If your credit score is not sufficiently high, and you are correct that this other account was helping to boost your score, then in time it should be added back to your credit report by the reporting agencies' automated systems.
posted by dfriedman at 11:10 AM on September 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

If the account your parents added you to is still active, it may reappear on your report when they next make a report to the credit agencies. I've had this happen repeatedly with an account that wasn't mine but someone else's, but her SS # had gotten mixed up with mine. So presumably it could also happen with an account that you really are on.

Alternately, you might try contacting the institution that holds the account and asking them to be sure it's reported to the credit agencies.

And I see, belatedly, that dfriedman said the same thing. Well, then, I second dfriedman!
posted by not that girl at 2:10 PM on September 19, 2011

My unsatisfactory experience trying to do this with Experian has been as follows.

I asked Experian to delete one of my dad's accounts from my credit report, and they deleted my entire report. Nothing I have done or said has made them put it back. If you're dealing with another credit bureau, you may have a chance, but Experian has been very difficult to work with.
posted by infinitewindow at 11:15 PM on September 19, 2011