Dispute Credit Reports – What You Must Do
To dispute an item on your credit report you need to write a dispute letter. In this letter you must have the reason for the dispute, your name, and the item you want to challenge.
The bureaus will investigate this item; they will contact the lender and ask them to verify it. They will check that the account exists, the balance, and the dates. If the item has the incorrect balance or dates and the lender updates it the mark will stay on your report.
However many times lenders will not verify an account. If this happens then the bureau must remove the item from your report. By removing negative items from your report you will improve you payment history which accounts for about 30% of your FICO score.
What Items Can I Dispute
The Fair Credit Reporting Act passed by Congress in 1970, is what entitles you to file a dispute. This piece of legislation says you can dispute any item you feel is inaccurate. An item can be inaccurate for a variety of reasons; not your account, it’s an error, it’s paid, incorrect balance, it’s over 7 years old …
This same law says an item can only remain on your report for a maximum of seven years. It also requires the bureaus to investigate your dispute; however this has turned into a slippery slope since 1970.
The bureaus have no financial incentive to ensure the information they have collected about you is accurate and they don’t earn money by correcting it. The only motive they have to investigate a dispute is to avoid FTC fines. Thus, they avoid investigating your disputes energetically as they only are spending money when they do. Often people get frustrated and give up which is the bureaus goal.
Is This Legal?
Yes, disputing items on your credit report is completely legal. The Fair Credit Reporting Act was passed to protect consumers. You will not ever face any legal problems for disputing any item on your report, even if you know it to be accurate.
Since 1970 no one has faced a legal fine, prosecution, charges, or even been looked at criminally for any thing that has to do with disputing an item on their credit report. Rest easy and don’t lay awake at night worrying about the authorities breaking your door down if you dispute an item you know is accurate.
In fact it is in your best interest to challenge all the negative items on your report. It may not be the most ethical but it sure can save you a lot of money if you can remove them and bring your score back up.
These three little numbers impact so many things in our life. It directly determines if we own our home, what kind of car we drive, our purchasing power, the purchases we can finance, and even how much disposable income we have. There are so many more things it impacts too, and on a side note we have been seeing an increasing number of employers running credit checks before offering a job to an applicant.
If you get frustrated attempting to deal directly with the bureaus we would encourage you to research a professional service before giving up. You don’t just have to live with negative marks on your report and you can improve your score!
For a free credit consultation call 1-800-230-1954 or for more about how to dispute credit reports of to learn how a credit repair service works visit us.