Credit Report Dispute Form

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 at 3:19 pm

How to Dispute Errors on Your Credit Report

If have got a copy of your credit report recently or you are planning to get one, you must read it carefully. This is because of the existence of errors on it. They could be as simple as a miss spelling of your name or a sign of things much worse. You are entitled to one Free Credit Report each year and it is wise to get a copy. There is a method of disputing errors and it could help you clean up your report.

The first after getting a copy of your report is to get a piece of paper to make a list of all possible errors. This will help as a quick reference for yourself to follow up on and also if you intend to dispute anything. Also, when you Get Your Credit Report a form will be attached to dispute error. It is important to hold on to this and make a copy after filling out and before you send it in.

There are five sections to be reviewed:

Your identity – Included in this section is your name, birth date, addresses where you have lived, and your birth date. This is a quick section for review but must be done carefully. Often errors are misspellings, but there should never be anyone’s information but yours. An address you have never heard of could be a sign identity theft. Take you time and add any errors to your list.
Credit accounts – This section could take some time to review since most Americans have an average account number above ten. Look for any negative entries that don’t make since to you. Your accounts are not perfect and if they don’t even look close to being right add them to the list of disputes. Here you should also look for any accounts that aren’t yours this is also a sign of a much worse problem.
Inquiries – Here you will find to different types of inquiries hard and soft. You should be interest mostly in hard inquiries which are done when you are applying for a loan. Anything that is over two years should be removed and be added to your list
Collections – You should look to see if there is any account that has sent to collections without you knowing. Then look to see there is any you have paid off and there are still listed as delinquent, dispute these as well.
Public records – If you have any then see if any are older than seven years so they can be removed from your credit report.

Now that you have you list and filled out the form to be sent in you have to wait. By law the Credit Bureaus have 30 days to investigate and respond. During the Credit Bureau’s investigation of the disputes, they will contact the creditor. If the credit doesn’t respond or say it is inaccurate the error will be removed. If the creditor does say the error is correct it will stay on your credit report. The credit bureaus do nothing more than ask the creditor if it is accurate. After the credit bureau responds back with their finds saying the creditor vouched for the error it is now up to you to contact the creditor and discuss the matter further. The burden of proof is now yours.

Looking for errors should be done on a yearly basis. You should then file your credit report including the errors dispute to be revisited the next time you request a copy of your credit report. Correcting errors is sometimes a hassle, but could be a quick way to improving your Credit Score.

About the Author

Is 700 A Good Credit Score? Find out by visiting Kyle’s website. There you will find more answer to questions about your credit report and how to get a free online FICO score.

Is there a letter/form to reinvestigate an item on My Credit report?

after revewing My Credit Report I found a company whose service I never received so I sent a letter to the credit bureau. they investigated and sent me a letter stating the information was accurate. However this company is based in CA and I live in TX. What other letter can I send to dispute this information?

You can send a Debt Validation letter to the company on your credit report, if they're reporting it as a debt. You have to ask for a copy of your agreement with them and that they respond withing 30 days. You can probably find samples of it on the net. What you need to keep in mind is that they may have offices in CA but that doesn't mean that that's where you did business with them. If there is a debt listed, it is possible that they purchased the debt from another of your creditors. The point of the Debt Validation letter is that they have to validate the debt. If they don't, you have the right to ask that the trade-line be removed from your credit report.

I recommend that you send the letter via certified U.S. mail with return receipt requested. If they don't validate it, you have to contact the credit bureaus and let them know that there was no response.

Overview Of Five Step Process To Correct False Entries Or Information On Credit Reports