How to dispute a credit report error
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you can dispute an error yourself at no cost. The credit bureau is legally required to investigate, generally within 30 days, and to delete anything it cannot verify.
Start with the bureau, in writing. A letter sent by certified mail gives you a dated record that an online form does not. The bureau must forward your dispute to the creditor within 5 business days and finish its investigation within 30 days (45 in some cases).
Write to the creditor on the same day. The company reporting the error has its own legal duties: it must investigate, correct what is wrong and mark the account as disputed. Writing to both at once keeps either one from pointing at the other.
If the window passes and the error is still there, ask for deletion of the unverified information, ask how it was “verified,” add a statement of dispute to your file and file a complaint with the CFPB.
Do written disputes work?
They can, because by law inaccurate or unverifiable information must be deleted or corrected. Disputes tend to stall when they are vague, lack supporting documents or go to the wrong address, and the kit is set up to avoid those problems.
You can do this without a credit repair company
Credit repair companies can’t do anything you can’t do yourself for free, and the CFPB has repeatedly warned consumers about the industry. This kit gives you dispute letters to send yourself, for one payment of $19.
Credit Dispute Letters provides self-help document templates and general information. It is not legal advice, it is not a credit repair organization, and it is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Kits For That is not a law firm. You can dispute credit report errors yourself for free without this product. Laws and procedures change, so check the current rules at consumerfinance.gov before you rely on them.