Jerry Brown is a personal finance writer based in Baton Rouge, La. He's been writing about personal finance for three years. Financial products he enjoys covering include credit cards, personal loans, and mortgages.
Jerry Brown ContributorJerry Brown is a personal finance writer based in Baton Rouge, La. He's been writing about personal finance for three years. Financial products he enjoys covering include credit cards, personal loans, and mortgages.
Written By Jerry Brown ContributorJerry Brown is a personal finance writer based in Baton Rouge, La. He's been writing about personal finance for three years. Financial products he enjoys covering include credit cards, personal loans, and mortgages.
Jerry Brown ContributorJerry Brown is a personal finance writer based in Baton Rouge, La. He's been writing about personal finance for three years. Financial products he enjoys covering include credit cards, personal loans, and mortgages.
Contributor Jordan Tarver Lead Editor, Mortgages & LoansJordan Tarver has spent seven years covering mortgage, personal loan and business loan content for leading financial publications such as Forbes Advisor. He blends knowledge from his bachelor's degree in business finance, his experience as a top perf.
Jordan Tarver Lead Editor, Mortgages & LoansJordan Tarver has spent seven years covering mortgage, personal loan and business loan content for leading financial publications such as Forbes Advisor. He blends knowledge from his bachelor's degree in business finance, his experience as a top perf.
Written By Jordan Tarver Lead Editor, Mortgages & LoansJordan Tarver has spent seven years covering mortgage, personal loan and business loan content for leading financial publications such as Forbes Advisor. He blends knowledge from his bachelor's degree in business finance, his experience as a top perf.
Jordan Tarver Lead Editor, Mortgages & LoansJordan Tarver has spent seven years covering mortgage, personal loan and business loan content for leading financial publications such as Forbes Advisor. He blends knowledge from his bachelor's degree in business finance, his experience as a top perf.
Lead Editor, Mortgages & LoansUpdated: Jul 27, 2021, 12:54pm
Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.
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Whether your goal is to build credit for the first time or maintain your current credit score, it’s always a good idea to check your credit reports for errors. Credit reporting mistakes can cause serious damage to your credit score. If your score drops because of an error, you may find it more difficult to qualify for a mortgage, personal loan or auto loan.
Because of this, it’s crucial that you dispute credit report errors immediately. Below, Forbes Advisor will walk you through how to check your reports for errors and steps you can take to dispute them.
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Identity theft coverage is not available in New York due to regulatory requirements.Your credit reports are based on information provided by companies to the three major credit bureaus—Experian, Equifax and Transunion. To identify which credit reports contain errors, you have to review each report separately. You can do this by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. Due to Covid-19, you can view all three of your reports for free weekly through April 20, 2022.
When reviewing your reports, some common personal information and account reporting errors include:
Before you submit your dispute, you should gather the personal information and documents the credit bureau or creditor may need to investigate your claim.
When you open a dispute, you may be asked for the following personal information:
In addition, you may be asked for the following documentation to support your dispute:
You should dispute credit report errors with each credit bureau that lists them on your credit report by submitting a claim online, by mail or by phone. Below, you can find a link to each bureau’s online dispute page, mailing address and phone number.
When disputing credit report errors, the FTC recommends sending a dispute letter to the data furnisher as well. A data furnisher is a financial institution, such as a lender or credit card issuer, that provides data to the credit bureaus. Each credit report that includes the error should list the furnisher’s name and address. If you don’t see an address listed, contact the company.
Once you submit your dispute to the furnisher, it has 30 days to conduct an investigation. If it finds that the information you’re disputing is inaccurate, it is required to notify each credit bureau it has reported the information. However, if the information is found to be accurate, it will remain on your credit report.
After you dispute credit reporting errors with a credit bureau, it typically has 30 days to investigate your claim. It must notify you of the results five days after completing the investigation. However, it can take up to 45 days under the following circumstances:
Once the credit bureau completes its investigation, it is required to send you the results in writing. When you receive the results, review them to see if you’ve won your dispute. If the results lead to a change—removal of or updates to incorrect information—it must also provide you with an updated copy of your credit report.
However, If you don’t agree with the results of the dispute, you can always resubmit a dispute with additional documentation to support your case. In addition, you can request that a statement of your dispute be included in future credit reports.
It may take some time for your credit reports to be updated. Creditors can take up to 45 days to send a credit bureau new information, according to TransUnion. If the information isn’t updated after 45 days, contact the credit bureaus or data furnisher again to see why inaccurate information is still being reported.
Review your credit reports at least once a year for errors. If you find an error listed on your credit report, take the steps mentioned above to dispute it directly with the credit bureau or creditor who provided the information. Although the credit dispute process can take a long time, removing negative items from your credit reports can build your score.
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ContributorJerry Brown is a personal finance writer based in Baton Rouge, La. He's been writing about personal finance for three years. Financial products he enjoys covering include credit cards, personal loans, and mortgages.
Lead Editor, Mortgages & LoansJordan Tarver has spent seven years covering mortgage, personal loan and business loan content for leading financial publications such as Forbes Advisor. He blends knowledge from his bachelor's degree in business finance, his experience as a top performer in the mortgage industry and his entrepreneurial success to simplify complex financial topics. Jordan aims to make mortgages and loans understandable.
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