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How to Dispute Credit Report Errors
Your credit report contains information about where you live, how you pay your
bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Consumer
reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers,
employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for
credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home. The federal Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy and privacy of information in the
files of the nation's consumer reporting companies.
Some financial advisors and consumer advocates suggest that you review your
credit report periodically. Why?
Because the information it contains affects whether you can get a loan-and how
much you will have to pay to borrow money.
To make sure the information is accurate, complete, and up-to-date before you
apply for a loan for a major purchase like a house or car, buy insurance, or
apply for a job.
To help guard against identity theft. That's when someone uses your personal
information-like your name, your Social Security number, or your credit card
number-to commit fraud. Identity thieves may use your information to open a
new credit card account in your name. Then, when they don't pay the bills, the
delinquent account is reported on your credit report. Inaccurate information
like that could affect your ability to get credit, insurance, or even a job.
Getting Your Credit Report
An amendment to the FCRA requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting
companies-Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion-to provide you with a free copy of
your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.
For details, see Your Access to Free Credit Reports at ftc.gov/credit.
How to Order Your Free Report
The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have set up one website,
toll-free telephone number, and mailing address through which you can order your
free annual report. To order, visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call
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.
You can use the form in this brochure, or you can print it from ftc.gov/credit.
Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually.
They are providing free annual credit reports only through
www.annualcreditreport.com, 877-322-8228, and Annual Credit Report Request
Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting
companies at the same time, or you can order from only one or two. The law
allows you to order one free copy from each of the nationwide consumer reporting
companies every 12 months.
You need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of
birth. If you have moved in the last two years, you may have to provide your
previous address. To maintain the security of your file, each nationwide
consumer reporting company may ask you for some information that only you would
know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment. Each company may ask you
for different information because the information each has in your file may come
from different sources.
Other situations where you might be eligible for a free report
Under federal law, you're also entitled to a free report if a company takes
adverse action against you, such as denying your application for credit,
insurance, or employment, based on information in your report. You must ask for
your report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. The notice will
give you the name, address, and phone number of the consumer reporting company.
You're also entitled to one free report a year if you're unemployed and plan to
look for a job within 60 days; if you're on welfare; or if your report is
inaccurate because of fraud, including identity theft.
Otherwise, a consumer reporting company may charge you up to $9.50 for another
copy of your report within a 12-month period. To buy a copy of your report,
contact:
Experian-888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)
www.experian.com
TransUnion-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com
Equifax-800-685-1111
www.equifax.com
Under state law, consumers in Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
New Jersey, and Vermont already have free access to their credit reports.
For details, see Your Access to Free Credit Reports at ftc.gov/credit.
Correcting Errors
Under the FCRA, both the consumer reporting company and the information provider
(that is, the person, company, or organization that provides information about
you to a consumer reporting company) are responsible for correcting inaccurate
or incomplete information in your report. To take advantage of all your rights
under this law, contact the consumer reporting company and the information
provider.
Step One
Tell the consumer reporting company, in writing, what information you think 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 that it be removed or
corrected. You may want to enclose a copy of your report with the items in
question circled. Your letter may look something like the one on page 4. Send
your letter by certified mail, "return receipt requested," so you can document
what the consumer reporting company received. Keep copies of your dispute letter
and enclosures.
Consumer reporting companies must investigate the items in question-usually
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 must
investigate, review the relevant information, and report the results back to the
consumer reporting company. If the information provider finds the disputed
information is inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide consumer
reporting companies so they can correct the information in your file.
When the investigation is complete, the consumer reporting company must give you
the results in writing and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in
a change. This free report does not count as your annual free report. If an item
is changed or deleted, the consumer reporting company cannot 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 corrections
to anyone who received your report in the past six months. You can have a
corrected copy of your report 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 a fee for this service.
Step Two
Tell the creditor or other information provider, in writing, that you dispute an
item. Be sure to include copies (NOT originals) of documents that support your
position. Many providers specify an address for disputes. If the provider
reports the item to a consumer reporting company, it must include a notice of
your dispute. And if you are correct-that is, if the information is found to be
inaccurate-the information provider may not report it again.
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 consumer
reporting companies: some travel, entertainment, gasoline card companies, local
retailers, and credit unions are among the creditors that don't.
If you've been told that 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 consumer reporting companies to add this
information to future reports. Although they are not required to do so, many
consumer reporting companies will add verifiable accounts for a fee. However,
understand that if these creditors do not report to the consumer reporting
company on a regular basis, the added items will not be updated in your file.
When negative information in your report is accurate, only the passage of time
can assure its removal. A consumer reporting company can report most accurate
negative information for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years.
Information about an unpaid judgment against you can be reported for seven years
or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer. There is no
time limit on reporting: information about criminal convictions; information
reported in response to your application for a job that pays more than $75,000 a
year; and information reported because you've applied for more than $150,000
worth of credit or life insurance. There is a standard method for calculating
the seven-year reporting period. Generally, the period runs from the date that
the event took place.
For more information, see Building a Better Credit Report at ftc.gov/credit.
Sample Dispute Letter
Date
Your Name
Your Address, 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. I have
circled the items I dispute 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 removed (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.)
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