How To Dispute Credit Report Errors

Your credit report contains information about where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy and privacy of information in the files of the nation's consumer reporting companies.

It's important to review your credit reports periodically. Why?

• Because the information it contains affects whether you can get a loan--and how much you will have to pay to borrow money.
• To make sure the information is accurate, complete, and up-to-date before you apply for a loan for a major purchase like a house or car, buy insurance, or apply for a job.
• To help guard against identity theft. That's when someone uses your personal information--like your name, your Social Security number, or your credit card number--to commit fraud. Identity thieves may use your information to open a new credit card account in your name. Then, when they don't pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report. Inaccurate information like that could affect your ability to get credit, insurance, or even a job.

Getting Your Credit Report
An amendment to the FCRA requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies--Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion--to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.

How to Order Your Free Report

We are all entitled to at least one free credit report a year. To order your free credit reports you must visit the officially designated website at www.annualcreditreport.com, or better yet, call the toll free automated line at 877-322-8228. You can also complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

The law allows you to order one free copy from each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies every 12 months. You may order all three reports at once -or stagger your requests and order one from each bureau quarterly.

You will need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. If you have moved in the last two years, you may have to provide your previous address. To maintain the security of your file, each credit bureau may ask you for some information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment. Each company may ask you for different information because the information each has in your file may come from different sources.

Other situations where you might be eligible for a free report
Under federal law, you're also entitled to a free report if a company takes adverse action against you, such as denying your application for credit, insurance, or employment, based on information in your report. You must ask for your report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. The notice will give you the name, address, and phone number of the credit bureau.

You're also entitled to one free report a year if you're unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days; if you're on welfare; or if your report is inaccurate because of fraud, including identity theft.

Otherwise, a credit bureau may charge you up to $9.50 for another copy of your report within a 12-month period. To buy a copy of your report, contact:

Experian-888-397-3742
www.experian.com

TransUnion-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com

Equifax-800-685-1111
www.equifax.com

Correcting Errors
Under the FCRA, both the consumer reporting agency and the information provider (that is, the person, company, or organization that provides information about you to a consumer 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 consumer reporting company and the information provider.

Step One
Tell the consumer 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. Send your letter by certified mail, "return receipt requested," so you can document what the credit reporting agency received. Keep copies of your dispute letter and enclosures.

Credit reporting agencies 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 consumer reporting company, it must investigate, review the relevant information, and report the results back to the consumer reporting company. If the information provider finds the disputed information is inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide consumer reporting companies so they can correct the information in your file.

When the investigation is complete, the credit reporting agency 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 agency cannot put the disputed information back in your file unless the information provider verifies that it is accurate and complete. The credit reporting agency also must send you written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the information provider.

If you ask, the credit reporting agencies 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 cra, you may want to consider contacting an attorney experienced with the FCRA. You can ask that a statement of your dispute be included in your file and in future reports. You also can ask the cra 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 -and it may just backfire -and cause you more trouble than it is worth. Check with an attorney.

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 consumer 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.

Adding Accounts to Your File
Your credit file may not reflect all your credit accounts. Although most national department store and all-purpose bank credit card accounts will be included in your file, not all creditors supply information to the credit reporting agencies; some travel, entertainment, gasoline card companies, local retailers, and credit unions are among the creditors that often don't.

If you've been told that you were denied credit because of an "insufficient credit file" or "no credit file" and you have accounts with creditors that don't appear in your credit file, ask the credit reporting agencies to add this information to future reports. Although they are not required to do so, some credit reporting agencies will add verifiable accounts for a fee. However, understand that if these creditors do not report to the credit reporting agency on a regular basis, the added items will not be updated in your file.

When negative information in your report is accurate, only the passage of time can assure its removal. A credit reporting agency can report most accurate negative information for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years. Information about an unpaid judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer. There is no time limit on reporting: information about criminal convictions; information reported in response to your application for a job that pays more than $75,000 a year; and information reported because you've applied for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance. There is a standard method for calculating the seven-year reporting period. Generally, the period runs from the date that the event took place.

For more information, see the FTC's report: Building a Better Credit Report

Sample Dispute Letter

Date
Your Name
Your Address, City, State, Zip Code

Complaint Department
Name of Company
Address
City, State, Zip Code

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing to dispute the following information in my file. I have circled the items I dispute on the attached copy of the report I received.

This item (identify item(s) disputed by name of source, such as creditors or tax court, and identify type of item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.) is (inaccurate or incomplete) because (describe what is inaccurate or incomplete and why). I am requesting that the item be removed (or request another specific change) to correct the information.

Enclosed are copies of (use this sentence if applicable and describe any enclosed documentation, such as payment records, court documents) supporting my position. Please reinvestigate this (these) matter(s) and (delete or correct) the disputed item(s) as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
Your name
Enclosures: (List what you are enclosing.)

Source: Federal Trade Commission

 
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