{"id":1397,"date":"2018-02-12T20:29:20","date_gmt":"2018-02-12T20:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.himorty.com\/?p=1397"},"modified":"2023-11-20T21:23:14","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T02:23:14","slug":"dispute-errors-credit-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.morty.com\/resources\/money-matters\/dispute-errors-credit-report","title":{"rendered":"How to Dispute Errors on Your Credit Report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Errors on credit reports are surprisingly common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few years ago, the Federal Trade Commission completed a decade-long study<\/a> which found that more than 20% of consumers had at least one error on a credit report significant enough to potentially hurt their credit score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re looking to buy a home, get a loan, or apply for a credit card in the near-future, it\u2019s important that your credit report be error free. An error-ridden credit report can lower your credit score. A lower credit score can make you look like a riskier borrower than you really are, causing lenders to offer you less favorable rates, or, in some cases, to reject your application entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Transunion, do their best to make sure the information on a credit report is accurate. But each of the credit reporting bureau maintains active credit files on more than 200 million Americans. With more than a billion data points to update each month, mistakes happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get a Copy of Your Credit Report<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By law, you\u2019re entitled to one free copy per year from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. If you haven\u2019t done so already, get copies of your credit reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(If you want some help reading and understanding your report, check out our previous post this series<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understand What You Can Dispute<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a free country, so technically, there\u2019s nothing stopping you from sending a sternly worded letter to a credit bureau about anything you\u2019d like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But generally, credit reporting bureaus will investigate and resolve disputed items that fall into one of two categories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information That’s Inaccurate.<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

As we mentioned above, mistakes happen. Maybe you notice that your name is spelled wrong, or that your report shows an incorrect middle name or initial. Perhaps your credit report lists a past address in a city in which never lived. Or you see an account you paid off listed as unpaid. Or your report still shows that credit card account you shared with your ex, but for which you are no longer responsible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever the issue is, if you see something on your credit report that isn\u2019t true, you should dispute that information. Inaccurate negative information is probably hiring your credit score. And though inaccurate personal information (like a wrong address) probably isn\u2019t hurting your score, it could be an indication of potential identity fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Information That’s Out-of-Date.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

By law, the credit bureaus must remove most negative information from your credit report after seven years. (Bankruptcies can stay on your credit report up to ten years.) If you spot negative information on your credit report older than is allowed, you can ask to have it removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take It Up With the Credit Reporting Bureaus First<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Remember: the error you\u2019ve spotted is on your credit report.<\/em> That means that ultimately, you need the companies that maintain your credit reports to fix your credit reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may be more comfortable talking to your lender or credit card company directly, but you\u2019ll save time and resolve the error faster by contacting the credit reporting bureau first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, let\u2019s say you spotted an error concerning your Chase credit card account. You may be tempted to call Chase to complain about it. Like the credit reporting bureaus themselves, credit card companies that furnish information to the credit reporting bureaus are also obligated to address and investigate errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in this case, your credit card company can only help remedy the situation if the error is the credit card company\u2019s  fault<\/em>. And there are all sorts of reasons that a mistake might show up on your credit report. Chase sent the wrong information to the credit reporting bureau <\/em>is just one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only exception to this rule is if the error on your credit report concerns public records or court proceedings. If your credit report is showing, say, an unpaid tax lien, get in touch with the appropriate municipality before you contact the credit reporting bureau. Either the public record has been recorded erroneously (in which case, you\u2019ll need to get the official legal record corrected before the credit reporting bureau can update your credit report), or the public records are right but the credit reporting bureau has the wrong information (in which case, you\u2019ll want copies of the documents with the right information to include with your dispute).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decide How You Want to Contact the Credit Reporting Bureau<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

All three of the credit reporting bureaus will now process disputes online. Here at Morty, we\u2019re fans of the online route for most things, and that includes disputing most credit reporting errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Submitting a dispute online is easy and quick, and you can track the progress of your dispute in basically real time. Here are links to the online dispute portals for all three credit bureaus:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equifax Credit Dispute<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experian Credit Dispute<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TransUnion Credit Dispute<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, you can also dispute errors on your credit report by mailing a letter to the appropriate credit reporting bureau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reporting an error through the mail may take a bit longer to process. But if having a paper trail is important, or if you have a complicated error to dispute, you can send a letter the old-fashioned way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equifax
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374-0256<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experian
P.O. Box 9701
Allen, TX 75013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TransUnion
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you mail your dispute letter, be sure to send the documents certified mail to verify your correspondence. It’s inexpensive, and you’ll have proof that you sent a dispute on a particular date, should you need that later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And remember: mail copies<\/em> of any supporting documents, not originals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to Include With Your Dispute<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your letter about your dispute doesn\u2019t need to be long or fancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FTC has some sample language here<\/a> that you can use, if writing is not your forte. But basically, your letter only needs to cover:<\/p>\n\n\n\n