How to dispute information on your credit report:

You shouldn’t have to pay someone or a company to dispute items on your credit report. Anything a third party could dispute for you, you can dispute for yourself.

There is actually more than one way to dispute. the credit bureaus will have you believe that you can dispute the items over the telephone or over their website.  That sometimes works, but when it doesn’t, the credit bureaus (which we in the biz call “Credit Reporting Agencies” or “CRA”s) often claim that you never disputed the items in the first place. for that reason, consumer lawyers suggest that you dispute in writing by certified mail.  I have put together a very simple request form with the mailing addresses for the three main CRAs, Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union.  All you have to do is cut and paste the text below the dashes into a word processing file, then fill in your identifying information and information about your disputed accounts.

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Some tips: 

Make sure your name matches the name as is currently showing on your credit report. If they have your name wrong, you need to list your name as a corrected item. Similarly, if they have your address wrong or your place of employment or other general info, you can dispute that as well.  Don’t worry about giving them your social security number. They already have it. Same with your date of birth.

When possible make your description of the basis for the dispute simple. For example, “not my account”, “I don’t recognize this account”, “incorrect balance”, “uncredited payments”, “incorrect date of last payment”, “liability disputed with creditor” (Note, if you have disputed liability with the creditor, send a copy of your dispute letter.), “account is out of date” (Negative items for the most part can only stay on your credit report 7 years from the date the item went in default. There are exceptions. Also, seedy collectors often “re-age” obsolete accounts, changing the date of delinquency or date of last activity to keep the item on your report.)

Some of the most common credit reporting issues include mixed files – where your information is mixed up with that of someone with the same or similar names, including Jr./Sr. mixups, Failure of the information provider to update records when paid, and transposed figures. Identity theft problems are serious, but they are comparatively rare.

If you dispute an item or items with a CRA, but the item is not corrected on your subsequent credit report, you will likely benefit by talking with a consumer lawyer about your options. You can find one at www.consumeradvocates.org, the website for the National Association of Consumer Advocates. If you are in Indiana, you can call me at 317-662-4529 or reach me through my website www.hoferlawindy.com.

Don’t make a blanket dispute of every (or virtually every) item on your credit report, at least don’t without having a good faith reason why the item should be corrected.  Blanket disputes rarely yield good results

You want to begin the dispute process several months before you expect to be purchasing a home or expensive item on credit. This gives you time for the dispute letter, a reply from the CRA and your follow-up response to the CRA.

In the case of consumer transactions where you have a dispute with the merchant, before you go through the credit report process, you want to have already sent a written dispute to the merchant and to have received a reply.

Copyright 2017 by Steven R. Hofer.  Free redistribution is preauthorized if redistributed with attribution and copyright notice intact.   Linking is expressly permitted.