Credit Report Dispute
Maintaining a good credit score is hard enough without misinformation constantly showing up on our credit reports. Not to mention identity theft that can wreak havoc on our credit profile and create huge problems down the road. That’s why it’s important to take a hard look at your credit report long before applying for a big time loan such as a mortgage or an auto lease.
If you fail to properly prepare yourself, you could find yourself with a sky-high interest rate or worse yet, be completely out of luck, all because of an erroneous item showing up on your credit report that shouldn’t really be there.
Believe me, it’s not uncommon to see inaccurate items appear on a credit report, but if they do, disputing it isn’t that difficult. You’ve really got two methods for tackling negative items or errors that you want removed from your credit report.
Write a Letter to the Credit Bureau
You can write a dispute letter to the credit bureau(s) that is reporting the error explaining that the item in question should be removed, including copies of any pertinent documentation and a copy of the credit report itself highlighting the mistake. A sample letter should include your full name, address, a complete description of the error, and a short narrative as to why you are disputing the item(s) in question. You’ll need to send a letter by certified mail and make sure you ask for “return receipt requested” to document the process.
The credit bureau then has 30 days to review the information, send it to the creditor(s) involved and complete an investigation. When the investigation is complete, the credit bureau must send you the results in writing along with a free copy of your report if the dispute results in some kind of action. If an item is changed or removed, the credit bureau cannot put the disputed information back on your credit report unless the creditor verifies that it is accurate.
So essentially the creditor has to prove you wrong, which in many cases they fail to do, either because they are indeed reporting misinformation or simply because they don’t pursue your case. Kind of like a police officer who fails to show up to your hearing after getting a speeding ticket. Even though you were in fact speeding, failure to appear and fight your case lets you off the hook.
Dispute an Item Online with the Credit Bureaus
This method is a lot easier than the previous method, because everything above is very streamlined. In my experience, after signing up for a so-called free credit report, you’ll be able to dispute any item you feel doesn’t belong. I noticed an erroneous medical collection on my report and simply hit the “dispute this item” button next to it, and followed the on-screen instructions. To my knowledge, most credit report/credit monitoring have this feature. It’s easy to use and an efficient way to dispute negative items quickly without sending letters and getting too technical. Best of all, it’s done online.
As with the method above, you’ll hear something within 30 days, and in the case that your dispute is successful, your credit report and credit score will be updated. Remember, one simple dispute can affect your credit score tremendously, often resulting in a 50 point swing or possibly even more depending on its severity.
Here are the credit bureaus dispute sites. Select the correct bureau by identifying which is reporting the error.
Equifax dispute
Experian dispute
Transunion dispute