How to Dispute and Fix Errors on
Your Credit Report
|
|
| |
Learn how
to fix
and remove
credit report errors
which in turn, will improve
your credit score.
Monitoring your Credit
Report is Important to
detect errors.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Monitor Credit Report Regularly
and Dispute Errors
|
|
When you order a credit report you'll receive a
Dispute form with it. Each bureau normally offers a
Dispute form so you can report information you
believe to be incorrect.
If you apply for credit of any kind - and are
denied - you'll receive a letter of decline from
the business/company you applied to and they will
disclose to you which one of the Credit Bureaus they
used to assist them in making the decision not to
extend you credit.
When you're denied credit, you are entitled to a
free credit report from the agency that supplied
your credit report to the potential lender. Call the
Credit Bureau and request a copy of your credit
report. If you disagree with items therein, follow
up with the Dispute form.
Credit Bureaus will not remove anything from your
credit report until they receive proof (in their
hands) proving the information is incorrect. If you
fill out the Dispute form you should explain in detail why
certain information on your credit report is
incorrect and/or inaccurate. When mailing a Dispute form to a
Credit Bureau, include copies of any and all
documents to support the inaccuracies. It's also a
good idea to mail copies (never originals), and send
the envelope with a Delivery Confirmation or via
Certified mail.
Example:
You borrowed $1000 dollars from ABC bank. You're
supposed to pay ABC bank $100 dollars a month for
the next 12 months, due by the 5th of each month.
When you receive your credit report it says that ABC
bank reported that you paid $100 dollars past the
due date two times. But you know you paid your bill
on time. You should contact your bank and ask them
to send you a summary of your loan account. When you
receive the bank's summary, and you see there are no
mistakes - you should attached this summary with the
Credit Bureau's Dispute form and mail it in to one
of the three main bureaus.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a Credit Bureau
must investigate your claim within 30 days of
receiving it. Keep records of when you mailed your
correction form. You should mail it via Certified
Mail. This way you'll have a signed receipt for
delivery, and you'll be able to use this
documentation, if in the future, they state they
never received it. |
|
|
Correcting Credit Report Errors
According to the Federal Trade Commission
|
Under the FCRA, both the credit reporting company
and the information provider (that is, the person,
company, or organization that provides information
about you to a credit reporting company) are
responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete
information in your report. To take advantage of all
your rights under this law, contact the credit
reporting company and the information provider.
Step One
Tell the credit reporting company, in writing, what
information you think is inaccurate. Include copies
(NOT originals) of documents that support your
position. In addition to providing your complete
name and address, your letter should clearly
identify each item in your report you dispute, state
the facts and explain why you dispute the
information, and request that it be removed or
corrected. You may want to enclose a copy of your
report with the items in question circled. Your
letter may look something like the one below. Send
your letter by certified mail, “return receipt
requested,” so you can document what the credit
reporting company received. Keep copies of your
dispute letter and enclosures.
Credit reporting companies must investigate the
items in question — usually within 30 days — unless
they consider your dispute frivolous. They also must
forward all the relevant data you provide about the
inaccuracy to the organization that provided the
information. After the information provider receives
notice of a dispute from the credit reporting
company, it must investigate, review the relevant
information, and report the results back to the
credit reporting company. If the information
provider finds the disputed information is
inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide
credit reporting companies so they can correct the
information in your file.
When the investigation is complete, the credit
reporting company must give you the results in
writing and a free copy of your report if the
dispute results in a change. This free report does
not count as your annual free report. If an item is
changed or deleted, the credit reporting company
cannot put the disputed information back in your
file unless the information provider verifies that
it is accurate and complete. The credit reporting
company also must send you written notice that
includes the name, address, and phone number of the
information provider.
If you ask, the credit reporting company must send
notices of any corrections to anyone who received
your report in the past six months. You can have a
corrected copy of your report sent to anyone who
received a copy during the past two years for
employment purposes.
If an investigation doesn’t resolve your dispute
with the credit reporting company, you can ask that
a statement of the dispute be included in your file
and in future reports. You also can ask the credit
reporting company to provide your statement to
anyone who received a copy of your report in the
recent past. You can expect to pay a fee for this
service.
Step Two
Tell the creditor or other information provider, in
writing, that you dispute an item. Be sure to
include copies (NOT originals) of documents that
support your position. Many providers specify an
address for disputes. If the provider reports the
item to a credit reporting company, it must include
a notice of your dispute. And if you are correct —
that is, if the information is found to be
inaccurate — the information provider may not report
it again. |
|
|
The FTC :
Federal Trade Commission can Assist with Credit
Report Errors
|
|
The FTC works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and
unfair business practices in the marketplace and to
provide information to help consumers spot, stop and
avoid them. To file a complaint or get free
information on consumer issues, visit
ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP
(1-877-382-4357) or TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC
enters consumer complaints into the Consumer
Sentinel Network, a secure online database and
investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and
criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and
abroad. |
|
|
Credit Bureaus:
|
|
|
Equifax Information
|
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
1-800-997-2493 or
1-800-525-6285
Web: http://www.equifax.com |
|
|
Trans Union
|
Consumer Disclosure Center
P.O. Box 390
Springfield, PA 19064-0390
1-800-888-4213 or
1-800-680-7289
Web: http://www.transunion.com |
|
|
Experian
|
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013-2140
1-888 EXPERIAN (888 397 3742)
Web: http://www.experian.com |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
