An error on your credit report can damage your credit. This is because it presents you as a risk to financial lenders and creditors. Often, this error is not necessarily a result of your financial mistakes. This is why I always recommend you to check your credit every month to catch and dispute errors on your credit report.
Who is responsible for correcting mistakes on your credit report?
Whenever there are such mistakes, you are responsible for disputing the errors. A credit reporting agency or a credit bureau will never reach out to you. Beware of scam calls posing as such.
Also, it will not cost a dime to dispute a mistake on your credit report. It is illegal by the way, for any credit reporting organization to demand a payment to help you fix credit report error. This is according to an article by the Federal Trade Commission: Consumer Advice.
Disputing Errors On Credit Report
There are three ways you can dispute errors and mistakes in your credit report. These are:
1. Disputing Through A Credit Bureau
You can do this through the three national credit bureau in the United States. The three national credit bureaus are Transunion, Experian and Equifax. You can either dispute your credit report online or through a letter.
Disputing Errors On Credit Report Online With A Credit Bureau
Each of the three credit bureaus has a website, where anyone can go to dispute inaccurate information on credit report. You can fill out a dispute form or call them. Click on one of the following links below to visit any one of the three credit bureau’s credit reporting page.
- Transunion online credit report dispute page. Alternatively, you can call their support center at (800) 916-8800.
- Experian online credit report dispute page. If you want to talk to a representative on the phone, you can call their support center at (888) 397-3742.
- Equifax online credit report dispute page. You can dispute information on Equifax credit report on the phone. Simply, call their customer support at (866) 349-5191.
You can call one of the three credit bureaus to dispute your credit report, my good reader.
Finally, be sure to fill out any needed information as they are on your legal documents. This is to avoid clerical errors on the part of the credit bureau. The last thing you want, is to delay the time it takes for them to correct an error on your credit report.
Disputing Credit Report With A Credit Bureau Through A Letter
Besides filling an online credit report dispute, you can write and mail a letter to any of the three credit bureaus. Here is what your letter should contain:
- Your legal name and address.
- Highlighted credit report error on an attached credit report copy.
- The best reason for the credit error dispute.
- Copies of other supporting evidences.
In addition, be sure the goal of the letter is to ask the credit bureau to correct errors on your credit report. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of writing the letter. Be sure to keep copies of what you mail for documentation purposes.
So, where would you be mailing your credit error dispute letter?
Here are the three mailing addresses of the three major credit bureaus in the United States.
| TransUnion | Experian | Equifax |
|---|---|---|
| TransUnion LLC Consumer Dispute Center P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19016 | Experian P.O. Box 4500 Allen, TX 75013 | Equifax Information Services LLC P.O. Box 740256 Atlanta, GA 30348 |
You do not have to send your letter to all the three credit bureau. It depends on whose credit report has the error. If it is one of them, then send your dispute letter to the bureau whose credit report has a mistake on it.
Surely, beware of scammers calling you from a credit bureau to demand personal information from you. A credit bureau will never call or mail you a letter, requesting information about your social security or other information use to identify you. Please be wary of credit report scams.
How Long Does It Take To Correct An Error On Your Credit Report
The dispute process with a credit bureau takes about 30 days for them to investigate and get back to you. Firstly, the credit bureau in question will accept your dispute. Then, based on the evidences you have sent to them, they will make a decision. You will be notified of the decision within five days of the decision.
In the end, they will remove your credit report errors. This is when they find grounds to fix the credit report error. Otherwise, they will not change the error and halt the process. When this happens, you can resubmit your dispute with new and strong evidence.
2. Disputing Through the Reporting Business
Your credit report is compiled from what businesses, banks and creditors report to Credit Bureaus. If a business is not pleased with a financial transaction you did with it, they can file something called a derogatory remark that could damage your credit.
Other times, mistakes are just made. A clerical mistake can result in an inaccurate personal information. This is where a mistake on your legal name could match with someone’s else on the system with a bad credit.
As a result, your credit and credit score are affected.
As I mentioned earlier, this is why I recommend checking your credit reports often. You can easily identify the reporting business using the credit report. Then, send a letter for them to fix the credit report error.
Your letter should include your legal name and address. Also, be sure to include the mistakes on a credit report. Attach evidences pinpointing to the error. If the error is an inaccurate personal information, dispute wrong name on the credit report.
Granted you have all the necessary documentations proving an error done by a reporting business, you will win a credit report dispute. As for the mailing address of the reporting business, it is often on a credit report. If you cannot find, be sure to call any of the credit bureau for help.
3. Disputing Credit Report Errors On Credit Karma
You can fix errors on a credit report through Credit Karma. I have done it before. Here is what happened to me.
I went on Credit Karma to check my credit score. The score had dropped by some points, so I went to see the credit history and I found a credit card attached from Sam’s club in another state. I never applied to any Sam’s credit card outside of Texas!
So, I submitted a form saying it was a mistake. Lo and behold, they removed the incorrect personal information from my credit report after a few weeks. See what happens when you check your credit score and credit often, my good reader?
Anyways, Credit Karma can help you dispute errors. Just sign up on their website. Or, download their app to use for checking your credit. It is a free service.
How Often Do Credit Disputes Work
According to a Federal Trade Commission Study, one in five consumers had their credit report error dispute resolved by a credit bureau after filing the dispute. What this means, is 20% of people have found it works for them.
Do credit bureaus really investigate credit disputes, dear WeeklyBagel reader?
Yes, credit bureaus investigate credit dispute as provided by consumer right protection laws. Whether disputing items on credit report work or not, depends on validity of the dispute. This is why all the three credit bureaus have to investigate your dispute and get back with you.
What happens if there is no response to a credit dispute submitted by you?
It means the bureau did not receive your file. Usually, it is supposed to take 30 days for them to investigate and come to a decision. Also, you are to be notified within five days of them making the decision. If these days pass by and you have heard nothing, then you have to call their customer support lines to inquire about your submitted credit report error dispute.
To sum up, a mistake on your credit report can present you as a risk to creditors and financial lenders. The best reason to dispute credit report error is to avoid financial mistakes that could ruin your credit and credit score. And, the best time to file a dispute is as soon as you discover such a mistake on your credit history.
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