It is important that your credit report contains accurate information about you. Inaccurate information about your debt or past payments can have negative consequences. Unfortunately, creditors do not always report your credit history fairly or accurately.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA, is a federal law that promotes your right to have accurate information presented in your credit report. It is the responsibility of your creditors to report your information to the credit bureaus and correct any errors in your credit report.
Once you have settled a debt or paid it in full, your creditors are required by law to report the change promptly. They must also update your credit status once you discharge a debt through bankruptcy. The law mandates that they notify all three credit bureaus and provide them with the most recent information.
Although creditors are required under the FCRA to change your credit report status, they do not always follow through. Correcting errors and making changes to your credit report may just not be your creditors top property. These tasks can easily slip through the cracks.
A good way to keep your credit report accurate is to dispute credit report errors. Read on to learn how to dispute errors on your credit report.
Dispute Items On Your Credit Report
If you have been turned down for a loan or job because of your credit report and believe that there is inaccurate information on your credit report, it is important to follow up as errors will continue to haunt you. To dispute information on your credit report:
- Request a credit report from the three credit report companies—Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. By law, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report if you are turned down for credit. You must request it within 60 days of the denial. You can also get a copy of all three credit reports for free one time a year from AnnualCreditReport.com.
- Carefully review all three reports for errors. Take note of anything that is incorrect no matter how insignificant it might seem. Make sure that all of your former addresses are listed correctly, as well.
- Once you have identified mistakes, then write out a dispute letter to each credit bureau that has incorrect information. Write a separate dispute letter for each error. You can use this handy dispute letter to credit bureau template.
- Provide evidence – Send in any supporting information that you have to back up your claim. For instance, if you paid off a debt and it still showing as having a balance, send in proof that you paid the debt in full. If your Social Security number is incorrect, then send in a copy of your Social Security card. Send as much proof as you have.
- Mail your disputes to the credit bureaus.
How Can I Correct Credit Report If The Letter Didn’t Work?
If the credit bureau fails to correct credit report errors listed in your dispute letter, you can still get them corrected using one of the following options:
- Sue credit bureau – If you were harmed because the credit reporting agency continued to give out inaccurate or incomplete information, then you can sue the credit bureau. For instance, if you did not get a job solely because of inaccurate information in your credit report, then you might be able to recover actual damages, which include lost wages, court costs, attorney’s fees and emotional distress.
- Sue the creditor – You might also be able to sue the creditor that supplied the inaccurate information to the credit bureau.
Experienced Attorneys Who Dispute Credit Report Errors
Credit report lawyers can tell you the best way to dispute errors on your credit report. Since credit bureaus don’t always respond to the dispute letters, the lawyers will be able to step in and file a lawsuit against them to get the errors corrected.
When you call our office, we will connect you to an experienced credit report lawyer who can assist you. Our network of lawyers has dealt with cases that involve fixing credit reports.
Call us at (818) 697-4295 to talk to a lawyer today. The consultation is FREE!