Credit Reporting Agencies Dispute
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) enacted 2003 incorporates credit reporting agencies dispute procedures and regulations that allow you to keep your credit information accurate and up to date.Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs), creditors and financial institutions make mistakes every year. In fact, a study released by the US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) in June 2004 states that “up to 79 % of the consumer credit reports surveyed contained some kind of error or mistake“.
These errors can cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in excess monthly payments and inflated interest rates, or even keep you from getting new credit! This is why it is you should pull and review your credit report regularly, and dispute any inaccurate, incomplete or outdated information that’s on it.
What to expect when you dispute your credit report
The credit bureaus must correct or delete from your credit report any information that is found to be inaccurate or can no longer be verified. They must respond to your dispute within 30-45 days.
Correcting credit report errors typically results in 20 – 30 points increase. In some cases, corrections can lead to a score increase of up to 100 points or more if the error was a bankruptcy report. On the other hand, there could be other negative information on your credit report that prevents an immediate increase of your FICO score.
Here is the full Credit Reporting Agencies Dispute Guide:
How to Dispute Your Credit Report (Part 1) – How to initiate a credit reporting agencies dispute, and a summary of your rights under the FACT Act.
How to Dispute Credit Report (Part 2) – Your next steps after receiving the credit bureau’s Dispute Results Letter, and a summary of your rights in case that the your dispute is accepted or rejected.
Sample Credit Report Dispute Form – A sample credit report dispute letter that you can use to initiate an investigation with the credit bureaus.