A wrong late payment or an account that belongs to someone else can show up on a credit report. You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. The process usually involves two parties: the credit reporting company that produced the report and the company that supplied the information.
- Review your reports and identify each item you believe is wrong.
- Gather copies of records that explain or support the correction.
- Send disputes to each credit reporting company showing the error and to the company that reported it.
- Keep your records, review the results, and follow up if the information remains wrong.
Confirm the error and choose a route
Start with your credit reports. Check identifying details, account ownership, payment history, balances, credit limits, and dates. A closed account listed as open or a payment marked late when it was on time may be worth disputing. So may the same debt listed more than once, or an account that lists you as the owner when you are only an authorized user.
Write down exactly what each report says and what you believe it should say instead. A statement showing a different balance, for example, may help explain a balance dispute. Check each report separately: an error on one does not tell you what appears on the others. The CFPB has a list of common reporting errors to use as a guide.
An account you do not recognize deserves particular attention. It could signal identity theft or a file mixed with someone else's information. If you suspect identity theft, IdentityTheft.gov is the federal resource for reporting it and planning a recovery. You can also dispute inaccurate information on the reports where it appears.
Send a dispute to each reporting company
For each credit reporting company whose report contains the error, prepare a written dispute that identifies the item and explains why it is inaccurate. Be specific. Instead of writing “my balance is wrong,” identify the account, state the balance shown, and explain the amount you believe is correct and why.
Include your full name, address, and phone number, along with the report confirmation number if you have it. Identify each disputed item and include the account number for any disputed account. Ask for the information to be corrected or removed. Enclose a copy of the relevant report section with the items circled or highlighted, plus copies of documents that support your explanation. Keep the originals.
For a mailed dispute, certified mail with a return receipt can provide a record of when the company received it. Keep a copy of the letter, its enclosures, and the receipt. The FTC offers a sample letter to credit reporting companies that you can adapt.
Contact the company that supplied the information
The business that reports account information to a credit reporting company is called a furnisher. Contact that business as well as each reporting company showing the error. Identify the account and the disputed information, explain the correction you are seeking, and include copies of supporting records. Check the furnisher's dispute instructions for where and how to send it.
If a furnisher corrects wrong information because of your dispute, it must forward the correction to every credit reporting company to which it supplied the inaccurate information. Keep the furnisher's response with your other records and check the affected reports afterward. Sending disputes to both parties gives each one a chance to address the problem.
Track the investigation and check the result
A credit reporting company generally has 30 days from receipt of a dispute to investigate. If you provide additional relevant information during that period, the investigation can be extended by 15 days. An investigation can also take up to 45 days when you dispute information after receiving your free annual credit report. The company has five business days after completing its investigation to notify you of the results.
Record the date the company received your dispute and keep any later correspondence. You should receive written notice of the results. If the dispute changes your report, check the free updated copy for the correction. That copy does not count as your free annual report. The CFPB explains these investigation timelines and notices in more detail.
Compare the outcome with what you requested. If a late mark was the issue, for example, look at the payment history rather than assuming every part of the account was corrected. If a response is missing or the correction does not appear, note that alongside your dates and copies.
If you disagree with the outcome
If a bureau dispute remains unresolved, you can ask the credit reporting company to include a brief statement of the dispute in your file and future reports. This option applies to disputes submitted to the reporting company, not solely to a furnisher. The CFPB explains what to do when you disagree with a dispute result.
You can also submit a complaint to the CFPB if your written dispute does not fix the error. Your copies of the dispute, supporting documents, receipt, and response can help you describe what happened. A credit reporting company may stop investigating a dispute it considers frivolous, so a clear explanation and relevant records matter.
Be cautious of offers to repair your credit for you. You can dispute an error yourself. Accurate negative information is different from an error, and correcting a report does not guarantee a particular credit score result.
Please seek a professional. This article is general information, not financial, tax or insurance advice. Please seek a licensed financial, tax or insurance professional about your own situation.
