THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT
The Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantees that the credit bureaus report the truth about your credit history with "maximum possible accuracy." We ensure your rights under the FCRA.
We recommend that everyone review your credit report at least once per year. It is free to do so at this link: www.annualcreditreport.com
If you see anything inaccurate on your report, including addresses where you have not lived, incorrect account numbers, if your name is misspelled, etc., these can all cause problems for your credit score and ability to have credit. If there are errors on your credit report, these need to be disputed with the credit reporting agencies (historically called credit bureaus). Disputing with the creditor that is misreporting does not help, the dispute must be filed with the credit reporting agency, such as Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. There are others, but those are the ones most people know about.
HOW TO FILE A DISPUTE
It is extremely important that you dispute properly. We have decades of combined experience to help you dispute errors on your credit report. When you see a specific problem, we will help you dispute the right way. Usually a dispute fixes the problem. If it does not, you have properly disputed and you have set up a fair and proper lawsuit against the creditor and/or the credit reporting agency.
The best way to dispute a bad credit file is on the website of the credit reporting agency that is misreporting. On each bureau's website they have a way for you to attach supporting documents to help with the reinvestigation of the credit file. For example, if you have paid a bill and you have a cancelled check, you would attach a copy of the cancelled check to the dispute to show that the debt has been paid and when. If a debt has been discharged in bankruptcy but is still being reported as owed, you can attach the discharge order from the bankruptcy case to aid the bureau in its reinvestigation. Attaching supporting documents is probably the most important thing you can do in a dispute and most people do not do this.
If you have a question about how to dispute, we can answer. The best way to have your questions answered is to send us an email explaining what is wrong with your credit report and why it is wrong. This way we have time to review your story and possibly do some research before we respond.
Send your questions to [email protected] or through our contact form.