Dispute Credit Report Errors
Whenever you apply for credit or loan your credit report is going to be one of the biggest factors in whether you are successful or not. What you may not know is that there could be information on your credit report that is incorrect and negatively affecting your credit score. Luckily, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act you can dispute credit report information and take the following steps get them removed.
Step 1 – Obtain Your Credit Reports
You will want to get copies from all three credit bureaus – Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. All U.S. citizens are allowed one free copy per year of their credit reports so that they can monitor credit information that is used to evaluate creditworthiness.
Step 2 – Review Your Credit History For Incorrect Information
Once you have your credit reports there are several things you should look for that are often reported incorrectly. These things include:
- Incorrect names or addresses in your file
- Inaccurate account balances
- Past Due payments that were made on time
- Accounts that do not belong to you
- Accounts that were closed without problems that still appear open
- Applications for credit that were not submitted by you
- Fraudulent accounts
It is important to remember that you should fix any problem that you see on your reports, regardless of how small they may seem.
Step 3 – Dispute Credit Report Errors
If you do find that your credit report contains inaccurate information, you should notify the credit bureau that issued the report both by calling them and submitting your dispute in writing. You also want to gather any information that supports your dispute such as statements, letters, checks or other documents. You may also want to include a copy of the credit report with your mailed submission and point out the information you are disputing.
Below are the addresses for submitting credit report information disputes:
TransUnion
Consumer Solutions
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022-2000
Equifax
P.O. Box 7404256
Atlanta, GA 30374-0256
Experian
Dispute Department
P.O. Box 9701
Allen, TX 75013
Step 4 – Reply To All Credit Bureau Responses
Within 30 Days, the credit agency will look into and respond to any disputed information on your credit report. In that response will be their findings and any information they were able to obtain from the creditor. Note: your creditor is required by law to investigate your file if you dispute credit report errors.
It is crucial that you have solid supporting documentation in case your creditor tells the reporting agency that the information is correct. Be prepared for quite a bit of “back and forth” when you dispute credit report information errors. If you’re applying for a loan or credit soon, you may want to get this process started as soon as possible.
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