How to Dispute Credit Report
Errors
(Federal Trade Commission)
Your credit report—a type of consumer report—contains information about
where you work and live and how you pay your bills. It also may show whether
you’ve been sued or arrested or have filed for bankruptcy. Companies called
consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) or credit bureaus compile and sell your
credit report to businesses. Because businesses use this information to evaluate
your applications for credit, insurance, employment, and other purposes allowed
by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), it’s important that the information in
your report is complete and accurate.
Some financial advisors suggest that you periodically review your credit report
for inaccuracies or omissions. This could be especially important if you’re
considering making a major purchase, such as buying a home. Checking in advance
on the accuracy of information in your credit file could speed the
credit-granting process.
Getting Your Credit Report
If you’ve been denied credit, insurance, or employment because of information
supplied by a CRA, the FCRA says the company you applied to must give you the
CRA’s name, address, and telephone number. If you contact the agency for a copy
of your report within 60 days of receiving a denial notice, the report is free.
In addition, you’re entitled to one free copy of your report a year if you can
prove that (1) you’re unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days, (2)
you’re on welfare, or (3) your report is inaccurate because of fraud. Otherwise,
a CRA may charge you up to $9.00 for a copy of your report.
If you simply want a copy of your report, call the CRAs listed in the Yellow
Pages under "credit" or "credit rating and reporting." Call each credit bureau
listed since more than one agency may have a file on you, some with different
information. The three major national credit bureaus are:
Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
(800) 685-1111
Experian
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
(888) EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)
Trans Union
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
(800) 916-8800
Correcting Errors
Under the FCRA, both the CRA and the organization that provided the information
to the CRA, such as a bank or credit card company, have responsibilities for
correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. To protect all
your rights under the law, contact both the CRA and the information provider.
First, tell the CRA in writing what information you believe 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 deletion or correction. You may want to
enclose a copy of your report with the items in question circled. Your letter
may look something like the sample below. Send your letter by certified mail,
return receipt requested, so you can document what the CRA received. Keep copies
of your dispute letter and enclosures.
CRAs must reinvestigate the items in question—usually within 30 days—unless they
consider your dispute frivolous. They also must forward all relevant data you
provide about the dispute to the information provider. After the information
provider receives notice of a dispute from the CRA, it must investigate, review
all relevant information provided by the CRA, and report the results to the CRA.
If the information provider finds the disputed information to be inaccurate, it
must notify all nationwide CRAs so they can correct this information in your
file.
Disputed information that cannot be verified must be deleted from your file.
If your report contains erroneous information, the CRA must correct it.
If an item is incomplete, the CRA must complete it. For example, if your file
showed that you were late making payments, but failed to show that you were no
longer delinquent, the CRA must show that you’re current.
If your file shows an account that belongs only to another person, the CRA must
delete it.
When the reinvestigation is complete, the CRA must give you the written results
and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change. If an item is
changed or removed, the CRA cannot put the disputed information back in your
file unless the information provider verifies its accuracy and completeness, and
the CRA gives you a written notice that includes the name, address, and phone
number of the provider.
Also, if you request, the CRA must send notices of corrections to anyone who
received your report in the past six months. Job applicants can have a corrected
copy of their report sent to anyone who received a copy during the past two
years for employment purposes. If a reinvestigation does not resolve your
dispute, ask the CRA to include your statement of the dispute in your file and
in future reports.
Second, in addition to writing to the CRA, tell the creditor or other
information provider in writing that you dispute an item. Again, include copies
(NOT originals) of documents that support your position. Many providers specify
an address for disputes. If the provider then reports the item to any CRA, it
must include a notice of your dispute. In addition, if you are correct—that is,
if the disputed information is not accurate—the information provider may not use
it again.
Accurate Negative Information
When negative information in your report is accurate, only the passage of time
can assure its removal. Accurate negative information can generally stay on your
report for 7 years. There are certain exceptions:
Information about criminal convictions may be reported without any time
limitation.
Bankruptcy information may be reported for 10 years.
Credit information reported in response to an application for a job with a
salary of more than $75,000 has no time limit.
Credit information reported because of an application for more than $150,000
worth of credit or life insurance has no time limit.
Information about a lawsuit or an unpaid judgment against you can be reported
for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is
longer.
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 CRAs: Some
travel, entertainment, gasoline card companies, local retailers, and credit
unions are among those creditors that don’t.
If you’ve been told 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 CRA to add this information to future reports.
Although they are not required to do so, many CRAs will add verifiable accounts
for a fee. You should, however, understand that if these creditors do not report
to the CRA on a regular basis, these added items will not be updated in your
file.
For More Information
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair
business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help
consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free
information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free,
1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet,
telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer
Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal
law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
Sample Dispute Letter
Date
Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip Code
Complaint Department
Name of Credit Reporting Agency
Address
City, State, Zip Code
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing to dispute the following information in my file. The items I
dispute are also encircled on the attached copy of the report I received.
(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.)
This item 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, 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)