Last month, and on a lark, I filed a dispute with Experian over the derogatory marks on my credit from the evil mortgage company. The mortgage company issue is ongoing, but Experian actually removed the item a week ago. I just got an email from them with the results, but this was after I’d logged into my bank account and saw my FICO score had shot up over 100 points.

Lessons learned:
* Derogatory items on your credit can REALLY take a toll.
* File a complaint if the credit report is in error. Much to my great surprise, it worked.