Identification

• After making that last payment on your bank loan, the lender usually reports the account as "paid as agreed" by the end of the month. The credit rating agencies may receive the information electronically whenever the lender sends it in, but it generally takes 90 days for the data to hit a credit report, because of the time it takes to update agency databases.
  
  

Considerations

• Lenders usually report information every month, such as whether you paid your bill on time and the amount on the account. If the creditor has yet to report any information on the account, there is a chance he chooses not to report to the credit agencies or only certain ones. Another possibility is that the lender or credit agency has erroneously reported the account to another person's credit report.
  
  

Contact the Lender

• Give the lender some time to update your report. When the account does not show up as "paid as agreed" after 90 days, contact the creditor and ask if he can update your account. If the lender does not report to the agencies, you are out of luck. Only a reporting mistake requires the creditor to send in a new form.
  
  

Tip

• Some lenders may be slow to act on your request to update your account. File a dispute with the credit agencies if an unresolved account causes you trouble, such as if you are late on your last payment and the account is considered delinquent. This could also spur the credit agencies to update your account faster, because the agencies must investigate a complaint within 30 days.