What should I do if I see the same reporting error in more than one credit reporting company’s credit report?
If you see a reporting error on your credit report, submit a dispute to the credit reporting company and the company that provided the wrong information.
It is a common problem. The company that provides the wrong information about you typically provides the same data to more than one credit reporting company. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) puts the responsibility on that company to ensure that inaccurate information is fixed with all credit reporting companies with whom it has shared the inaccurate information. Accordingly, you only need to submit a dispute to the company that originates the incorrect information. That company has a duty to forward this correction to every credit reporting company with whom it has shared the incorrect information.
However, it is still a good idea that you submit a dispute to each institution involved to help ensure the error is investigated and corrected everywhere you see it. This includes every credit reporting company that reports the wrong information and the company that provides the wrong information to the credit reporting companies.
It is also important to periodically check your credit report with the three national credit reporting companies to ensure that all three are accurate. You can obtain a credit report from each of the three national credit reporting companies for free once every twelve months.
Visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com for more information.