Credit Report Dispute

Taking proactive measures to maintain good credit is a wise course of action. One important step in this endeavor is to review a copy of your credit report on an annual basis. This simple action can help determine whether your information has been reported and listed in an accurate fashion. If an error is discovered than a strong response is important to affectively dispute the information listed on the credit report.

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Steps to Correct your Credit Report

Write a letter to the credit agencies. Provide a detailed explanation of the situation and ask them to correct the disputed information on the credit report. The agencies will generally investigate your dispute within a 30 day period of notification.

Contact the creditor directly if inaccurate information has been reported. Explain the situation and offer any bills or documents that support your position. Ask the creditor to contact the credit reporting agencies in writing to inform them of the inaccuracy.

Offer clear proof of identity. Occasionally a reporting agency may mix up information between individuals with similar (or identical) names. When corresponding with a reporting bureau make sure to clearly identify your full name address and social security number. In extreme cases a copy of an individual's birth certificate may be beneficial.

Submit a written explanation. In cases where a dispute is pending or unresolved it is important to submit an explanation to the agencies in writing. The explanation can be up to 100 words and by law must be included with the report whenever it is released.

Attempt to add relative account information to your credit report. This is important if you have been turned down for credit due to an insufficient credit history. If you have established accounts with creditors that do not report to the agencies than the bureaus can often verify this information. Contact the credit reporting agencies and ask if they would add these accounts but be aware that they are not required to do so.

Correspond via certified mail. This is a good rule of thumb to follow when disputing credit report innacuracies. This tactic will provide verification if future disputes arise.

Upon the completion of an investigation a credit reporting agency must provide the individual with written results along with a copy of the revised report. (if the investigation resulted in a change). Additionally, upon the individual's request the reporting agencies must provide a notification of the changes to anyone who had received a copy of the credit report within the previous 6 months.

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About the author:

Mark Carney is a professional consultant with First American Debt Consolidation and Loans, a debt consolidation service specializing in financial education, credit counseling, and debt management services nationwide.