How
to Dispute Credit Report Errors
Your
credit report contains information about where you live, how you pay your
bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy.
Consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors,
insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your
applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home. The federal
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy and privacy of
information in the files of the nation's consumer reporting companies.
Some
financial advisors and consumer advocates suggest that you review your credit
report periodically. Why?
- Because the information it
contains affects whether you can get a loan—and how much you will have to
pay to borrow money.
- To make sure the information is
accurate, complete, and up-to-date before you apply for a loan for a major
purchase like a house or car, buy insurance, or apply for a job.
- To help guard against identity
theft. That's when someone uses your personal information—like your name,
your Social Security number, or your credit card number—to commit fraud.
Identity thieves may use your information to open a new credit card
account in your name. Then, when they don't pay the bills, the delinquent
account is reported on your credit report. Inaccurate information like
that could affect your ability to get credit, insurance, or even a job.
Getting Your Credit
Report
An
amendment to the FCRA requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting
companies—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—to provide you with a free copy of
your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.
For
details, see Your Access to Free Credit Reports at ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/.
How to Order Your
Free Report
The
three nationwide consumer reporting companies have set up one website,
toll-free telephone number, and mailing address through which you can order
your free annual report. To order, visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call
877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit
Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request
Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. You can use the form in this
brochure, or you can print it from ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/.
Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually.
They are providing free annual credit reports only through www.annualcreditreport.com, 877-322-8228,
and Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA
30348-5281.
You
may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting
companies at the same time, or you can order from only one or two. The law
allows you to order one free copy from each of the nationwide consumer
reporting companies every 12 months.
You
need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. If
you have moved in the last two years, you may have to provide your previous
address. To maintain the security of your file, each nationwide consumer
reporting company may ask you for some information that only you would know,
like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment. Each company may ask you for
different information because the information each has in your file may come
from different sources.
Other situations where you might be eligible for a free
report
Under
federal law, you're also entitled to a free report if a company takes adverse
action against you, such as denying your application for credit, insurance, or
employment, based on information in your report. You must ask for your report
within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. The notice will give you the
name, address, and phone number of the consumer reporting company.
You're
also entitled to one free report a year if you're unemployed and plan to look
for a job within 60 days; if you're on welfare; or if your report is inaccurate
because of fraud, including identity theft.
Otherwise,
a consumer reporting company may charge you up to $9.50 for another copy of
your report within a 12-month period. To buy a copy of your report, contact:
Equifax-800-685-1111
www.equifax.com
Experian-888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)
www.experian.com
TransUnion-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com
Under
state law, consumers in Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, and Vermont already have free access to their credit reports.
For
details, see Your Access to Free Credit Reports at ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/.
Correcting Errors
Under
the FCRA, both the consumer reporting company and the information provider
(that is, the person, company, or organization that provides information about
you to a consumer reporting company) are responsible for correcting inaccurate
or incomplete information in your report. To take advantage of all your rights
under this law, contact the consumer reporting company and the information
provider.
Step One
Tell the
consumer reporting company, in writing, what information you think is
inaccurate. Include copies (NOT originals) of documents that support your
position. In addition to providing your complete name and address, your letter
should clearly identify each item in your report you dispute, state the facts
and explain why you dispute the information, and request that it be removed or
corrected. You may want to enclose a copy of your report with the items in
question circled. Your letter may look something like the one on page 4.
Send your letter by certified mail, "return receipt requested," so you can
document what the consumer reporting company received. Keep copies of your dispute
letter and enclosures.
Consumer
reporting companies must investigate the items in question—usually within 30
days—unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They also must forward all
the relevant data you provide about the inaccuracy to the organization that
provided the information. After the information provider receives notice of a
dispute from the consumer reporting company, it must investigate, review the
relevant information, and report the results back to the consumer reporting
company. If the information provider finds the disputed information is
inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide consumer reporting companies so
they can correct the information in your file.
When
the investigation is complete, the consumer reporting company must give you the
results in writing and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a
change. This free report does not count as your annual free report. If an item
is changed or deleted, the consumer reporting company cannot put the disputed
information back in your file unless the information provider verifies that it
is accurate and complete. The consumer reporting company also must send you
written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the
information provider.
If
you ask, the consumer reporting company must send notices of any corrections to
anyone who received your report in the past six months. You can have a
corrected copy of your report sent to anyone who received a copy during the
past two years for employment purposes.
If an
investigation doesn't resolve your dispute with the consumer reporting company,
you can ask that a statement of the dispute be included in your file and in
future reports. You also can ask the consumer reporting company to provide your
statement to anyone who received a copy of your report in the recent past. You
can expect to pay a fee for this service.
Step Two
Tell
the creditor or other information provider, in writing, that you dispute an item.
Be sure to include copies (NOT originals) of documents that support your
position. Many providers specify an address for disputes. If the provider
reports the item to a consumer reporting company, it must include a notice of
your dispute. And if you are correct—that is, if the information is found to be
inaccurate—the information provider may not report it again.
Adding Accounts to
Your File
Your
credit file may not reflect all your credit accounts. Although most national
department store and all-purpose bank credit card accounts will be included in
your file, not all creditors supply information to consumer reporting
companies: some travel, entertainment, gasoline card companies, local
retailers, and credit unions are among the creditors that don't.
If
you've been told that you were denied credit because of an "insufficient credit
file" or "no credit file" and you have accounts with creditors that don't
appear in your credit file, ask the consumer reporting companies to add this
information to future reports. Although they are not required to do so, many
consumer reporting companies will add verifiable accounts for a fee. However,
understand that if these creditors do not report to the consumer reporting
company on a regular basis, the added items will not be updated in your file.
When
negative information in your report is accurate, only the passage of time can
assure its removal. A consumer reporting company can report most accurate
negative information for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years.
Information about an unpaid judgment against you can be reported for seven
years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer. There
is no time limit on reporting: information about criminal convictions;
information reported in response to your application for a job that pays more
than $75,000 a year; and information reported because you've applied for more
than $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance. There is a standard method for
calculating the seven-year reporting period. Generally, the period runs from
the date that the event took place.
For
more information, see Building a Better Credit Report at ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/.
Sample
Dispute Letter
|
Date
Your Name
Your Address, City, State, Zip Code
Complaint Department
Name of Company
Address
City, State, Zip Code
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing to dispute
the following information in my file. I have circled the items I dispute on
the attached copy of the report I received.
This item (identify
item(s) disputed by name of source, such as creditors or tax court, and
identify type of item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.) is (inaccurate
or incomplete) because (describe what is inaccurate or incomplete and why). I
am requesting that the item be removed (or request another specific change)
to correct the information.
Enclosed are copies of
(use this sentence if applicable and describe any enclosed documentation,
such as payment records, court documents) supporting my position. Please
reinvestigate this (these) matter(s) and (delete or correct) the disputed
item(s) as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Your name
Enclosures: (List what you
are enclosing.)
|
The
FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business
practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot,
stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint
or to get free information
on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov
or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The
FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related
complaints into Consumer
Sentinel, a secure online database available to hundreds of civil
and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
