Derogatory credit report UPDATE

A couple of weeks ago I checked my credit score, which I get for free with my Providian card that...well, I don't actually use and only keep because of the free score (sorry Providian). Anyway, this score fluctuates several points between months but has remained stable over the last year, which is as far back as they display the records. The score for July however dipped 30 points. I had opened up a credit card with Citibank, so I at first assumed it was because of that - though that seems like quite a drop just for opening a line of credit. However on the "reasons" it said, and still says, "You have multiple accounts showing late payments or derogatory remarks."

That's not good! I feared that either someone I do business with reported me late, which I have not been, or maybe an account had been opened I wasn't aware of and wasn't being paid. After mulling it over I was torn between waiting a few months to see what happened and just biting the bullet, checking the report, and seeing what was up. In the end, I guess because as a personal finance blogger I'm always reading articles on identity theft and credit reporting errors, I plunked down $10 to check it.

Turns out there is nothing derogatory on the report at all. No late payments, no strange accounts. Nothing. I feel better, but I could have bought a really nice cheeseburger with that $10.