How to Remove an Incorrect Address from Your Credit Report

Mixed race woman paying bills on digital tablet
Dear Experian,

An address for my bankruptcy lawyer suddenly appeared on my credit report as a single family residence and you won`t let me remove it. It says to contact the creditor, but doesn't say who that is. I don't have any mail going there, nor do I live there. Why is this on there, and why won`t you remove it?

- RSR

Dear RSR,

Addresses are listed on your credit report when they are reported to Experian by your creditors. If you dispute an address that is being reported by a creditor as associated with an account, Experian will advise you to contact that creditor to notify them that the address they are reporting is incorrect.

Any address that is reported as associated with an account may appear on your report. For that reason, many people have work addresses, P.O. Boxes, and even the address of a friend or family member listed. This does not affect your creditworthiness and is usually not cause for concern.

In your instance, it is likely that the address of your bankruptcy attorney was provided to one or more of your creditors during the bankruptcy filing process. The system may have classified it as a single family residence simply because it does not have an apartment number or unit number attached to it.

If you are not sure which of your creditors is reporting your attorney's address, you may call the number listed on your credit report and speak to an Experian representative. They will be able to help you determine which of your creditor(s) is reporting it so that you can contact them.

Once they correct the address in their system, they can report the correct address to Experian. If the address is no longer being reported by any of your creditors, you can request it be removed from your credit report.

Thanks for asking.
The "Ask Experian" team