If you are wondering how your credit score affects your life, please read this article.
Credit-repair companies and services are everywhere these days – offering their services for fees usually ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. What these companies don’t want you to know is that you can actually do everything they can because all it takes is a little bit of patience and a few trips to the post office.
It doesn’t cost anything to dispute mistakes or outdated items on your credit report. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the three bureaus and the information provider (creditor) are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report.
To get started you will need to obtain a fresh copy of your credit report from all three credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. You’re entitled to one free copy from each bureau once a year. To order it, click on annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
Review each listed creditor carefully. The following is a list of different types of errors and misrepresentations you should look for:
- Delinquencies (if at all late, the amount of days late)
- Creditors (there may be creditors you don’t have, or you may be missing creditors you should have)
- Balances (these may be a little off as they might not have updated recently, but just make sure they’re not completely incorrect)
- Length of History (make sure a card you’ve had for five years doesn’t show up as two years old because your average credit history length affects your credit score)
Disputing the errors you’ve found on your credit report
Once you’ve reviewed your credit report and found some errors, you have a few different options of how to dispute them. All three credit bureaus offer online dispute resolution. This is a great way to dispute because it’s normally a lot quicker than doing it by mail, but keep in mind that you can’t necessarily fix all of your problems online.
Credit Bureau Contact Information:
Disputing By Mail
When online disputing doesn’t work you’ll need to send your dispute through the mail. Call the credit bureaus to verify what you need to do for your specific case. Some items you may need to include (depending on your error):
- Copy of driver’s license or state ID card
- Copy of Social Security card
- The full name of the creditor or collection agency
- The full account number
- A concise description of why you’re disputing it
- Paperwork that supports your case
The FTC provides you with a sample dispute letter for your disputing convenience.
Sample Dispute Letter
Date
Your Name
Your Address
Your 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. The items I dispute also are circled 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 deleted (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 and court documents) supporting my position. Please investigate 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)
Remember to only send copies of your information. Retain the originals.
Mailing Addresses for the Credit Bureaus
These are the addresses you will be sending your Dispute Letter and other required paperwork to:
Equifax Information Services, LLC
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374
Experian
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013-0949
TransUnion Corp.
P.O. Box 2000
Springfield, PA 19022-2000
Lastly, the FTC explained that:
“Consumer reporting companies must investigate the items you question 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 is required to investigate, review the relevant information, and report the results back to the consumer reporting company. If this investigation reveals that the disputed information is inaccurate, the information provider has to notify the nationwide consumer reporting companies so they can correct it in your file.
When the investigation is complete, the consumer reporting company must give you the results in writing, too, and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change. If an item is changed or deleted, the consumer reporting company is not permitted to put the disputed information back in your file unless the information provider verifies that it is accurate and complete. The consumer reporting company also must send you written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the information provider. If you ask, the consumer reporting company must send notices of any correction to anyone who received your report in the past six months. You also can ask that a corrected copy of your report be 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 consumer 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 consumer reporting company to provide your statement to anyone who received a copy of your report in the recent past. You can expect to pay for this service.”
Once you clean up your report your credit score should increase and now the actual repair process starts. This is something no company can help you with; opening new credit lines and staying current with them. After about a year or so, you should see a dramatic increase in your credit score. Before long, you’ll be approved everywhere at low interest rates – lowering your expenses in everything credit-related – giving you a stable financial foundation to lean on and allowing you to finally breath with ease.
Does anybody have experience with disputing errors? If so, please share your experience with us. Any extra tips are greatly appreciated!