How do I dispute an error on my credit report?
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You have the right to dispute errors on your credit report. Fixing an error generally means contacting both the credit reporting company and the company that provided the information.
How to dispute an error on your credit report
First, dispute the information with the credit reporting company or companies
If you identify an error on your credit report, you should start by disputing that information with the credit reporting company (Experian, Equifax, and/or Transunion). You should explain in writing what you think is wrong, why, and include copies of documents that support your dispute. You can also use our instructions and template letter as a guide.
If you mail a dispute, your dispute letter should include:
- Contact information for you, including your complete name, address, and telephone number
- Credit report confirmation number, if available
- Each error you want fixed, including the account number for any account you may be disputing
- Clear explanation of why you are disputing the information
- Request that the information be removed or corrected
- A copy of the portion of your credit report that contains the disputed items, with the disputed items circled or highlighted
- Copies (not originals) of documents that support your position
You can choose to send your dispute letter by certified mail and ask for a return receipt, so that you have a record that your letter was received.
You can contact the nationwide credit reporting companies online, by mail, or by phone:
Equifax
Online: www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-dispute/
By phone or mail: Call the phone number shown on your credit report or call (866) 349-5191. Visit www.equifax.com/personal/contact-us/ to find the current address you can mail your dispute to.
Experian
Online or by mail: www.experian.com/disputes/main.html to dispute online or get instructions for how to dispute by mail.
By phone: Call the phone number shown on your credit report or call (888) 397-3742.
TransUnion
Online: dispute.transunion.com
By mail or phone: Visit www.transunion.com/credit-disputes/dispute-your-credit/mail-or-phone for instructions on how to dispute by mail or phone, or call (800) 916-8800, Monday – Friday 8 a.m. 11 p.m. ET, Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET to dispute over the phone.
Keep copies of your dispute letter and the documents you send with it.
The credit reporting company you sent the dispute letter to must investigate your dispute, forward the dispute and all relevant information you provided to the company that provided the information about you, and report the results back to you.
A credit reporting company is not required to investigate disputes that it reasonably determines are frivolous or irrelevant, such as disputes that do not contain enough information for the CRA to investigate them (e.g., disputes that do not specify what information is being disputed).The company must send you a notice explaining that it has decided the dispute is frivolous and why it has made that determination and the notice must be sent within five business days after it made the decision.
Then, dispute the information with the company that provided it to the credit reporting companies
Credit reporting companies gather information about you from other companies called furnishers. Examples of furnishers include your bank, your landlord, and your credit card company.
To dispute the information a furnisher provided to the credit reporting company, you can use our sample letter as a guide. Send disputes to furnishers in writing, using certified mail. Disputes can be sent to the furnisher’s address included on your consumer report or to an address specified by the furnisher for receiving credit reporting disputes. Furnishers generally must investigate and respond to your dispute within 30 days of when they receive the dispute.
If the investigation shows the furnisher provided wrong information about you, or the information cannot be verified, the furnisher must update or remove the information and notify all the credit reporting companies after correcting it. Then, the credit reporting companies must update your credit reports.
The furnisher might determine that the information about you is accurate and should not be updated or removed. In that case, you can contact the credit reporting companies again and ask them to include a statement explaining the dispute in your credit reports. The statement is then added to your file and provided to whomever requests your credit report in the future.
Submit a complaint
If you have a problem with your credit report, you can also submit a complaint with the CFPB.