How to Dispute Negative Credit
Improve Credit by Disputing Errors and Inaccuracies in Credit Reports
by Lisa Phillips
Improve Credit by Disputing Errors and Inaccuracies in Credit Reports
by Lisa Phillips
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Repairing credit can involve several strategies. Learning how to dispute negative credit is a
major component to credit repair. Other components include debt validation, debt settlement,
paying credit obligations on time and adding positive information to your credit reports.
The amount of time you spend repairing your credit varies depending on how many items you
need to address. It may take several months to get the desired results but it is well worth the
effort. If you do not have the time to invest, consider using professional services. Let a Law Firm
Remove your Negative Items from your Credit Report! Whatever the amount of time and effort
spent repairing your credit, the benefits far outweigh the effort. Having good credit is
immeasurable!
Because the major credit reporting agencies deal with millions of bits and pieces of information
for millions of consumers, mistakes occur on a regular basis. Errors are made, inaccurate and
even erroneous information is reported and you have a right to dispute that information.
major component to credit repair. Other components include debt validation, debt settlement,
paying credit obligations on time and adding positive information to your credit reports.
The amount of time you spend repairing your credit varies depending on how many items you
need to address. It may take several months to get the desired results but it is well worth the
effort. If you do not have the time to invest, consider using professional services. Let a Law Firm
Remove your Negative Items from your Credit Report! Whatever the amount of time and effort
spent repairing your credit, the benefits far outweigh the effort. Having good credit is
immeasurable!
Because the major credit reporting agencies deal with millions of bits and pieces of information
for millions of consumers, mistakes occur on a regular basis. Errors are made, inaccurate and
even erroneous information is reported and you have a right to dispute that information.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act
Several consumer protection laws exist to help consumers
navigate credit and debt. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
deals directly with credit. Familiarize yourself with the FRCA as it
is a powerful consumer tool during the dispute process. The
FRCA says the credit reporting agencies cannot provide
inaccurate information. Doing so is a violation of the FRCA.
Once errors have been disputed by the consumer an
investigation must be initiated. This investigation must be
completed within thirty (30) days from the date your dispute is
received by the credit reporting agency. If the creditor fails to
respond within the thirty (30) day time frame, the incorrect entry
must be deleted.
Quick Tips Before Starting the Dispute Process
Several consumer protection laws exist to help consumers
navigate credit and debt. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
deals directly with credit. Familiarize yourself with the FRCA as it
is a powerful consumer tool during the dispute process. The
FRCA says the credit reporting agencies cannot provide
inaccurate information. Doing so is a violation of the FRCA.
Once errors have been disputed by the consumer an
investigation must be initiated. This investigation must be
completed within thirty (30) days from the date your dispute is
received by the credit reporting agency. If the creditor fails to
respond within the thirty (30) day time frame, the incorrect entry
must be deleted.
Quick Tips Before Starting the Dispute Process
- Review your credit reports and mark the items to be
disputed. - All negative information may or may not appear on every
credit report so make sure you dispute with the appropriate
credit bureau. - Dispute no more than 3-4 negative tradelines per dispute
letter - Make copies of your dispute letters and any proof you
enclose. - Wait for your dispute results and if you have to dispute
again, wait at least 60 days to dispute the same item - Curtail applying for new credit while you are in the dispute
process. - Use other credit repair strategies such as disputing directly
with the creditor; debt validation or even debt settlement if,
after final re-investigation, you do not get the desired
results.
Write Your Dispute Letter
Writing a straightforward, precise dispute letter is imperative. You want your letter read, acted
upon, and not discarded as frivolous. Keep good records as you may need them later. The
credit reporting agencies have 30 days after receipt of dispute to conduct an investigation and
resolve the matter. If you have documentation to support your dispute include that with your
dispute letter. See “How to Write a Dispute Letter.”
Avoid On-Line Disputes
Initiating credit disputes on-line is convenient. But, disputing credit on-line may lead you to
dispute every negative item at once. Do not make this mistake! Even though a few items may be
removed via on-line disputes, those items may be re-inserted at a later date. Any future disputes
of the re-inserted items may be marked as frivolous and not investigated again. The credit
reporting agencies can reject further disputes for up to 12 months. Additionally, online disputes
limit the facts on which you can dispute a negative credit item.
Create an Emergency
The credit bureaus receive a vast amount of disputes daily so make sure you create an
emergency so that your dispute is taken seriously. Let them know you are in the process of
obtaining a mortgage loan and the errors in your report are hurting your chances of being
approved and/or causing the lender to only offer subprime interest rates. Those are just
examples but you get the drift.
Collection Agency Debt
Starting the dispute process may alert debt collectors you are attempting to repair your credit. Be
aware that once you begin the dispute process you may have to deal with debt that is still within
the state of limitations which means you could be sued by a debt collector. Debt validation and
debt settlement is an option. Either way, credit repair is still worth the risk as you have consumer
protection laws on your side such as the Fair Debt Practices Collection Act.
Where to Start
Begin the dispute process with the credit reporting agencies first. You may get the negative item
deleted and no further action has to be taken. If you start disputing directly with a creditor first,
you could end up engaging in a longer battle to get an item deleted.
Deletion is the Goal
Request full deletions when disputing credit, especially for credit score killing items such as
collection accounts. Having an item changed from “collection” to “paid collection” will not help
your credit score. Paid and unpaid collection items hold the same weight as they are both
negative tradelines. See Deletions
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
Be careful about disputing old debts. You could bring the debt back to life by disputing it and
awaken the creditor’s or collection agency’s interest in collecting the debt. If the debt is within the
Statute of Limitations, you could get sued. If the statute of limitations has expired, you are safe
from a lawsuit. Be careful not to do anything that may re-start the statute of limitations by
acknowledging, making a payment or even agreeing to pay on the debt.
Factual Based Disputes
Credit item disputes based upon factual errors stand a greater chance of being deleted.
Disputes that are factual and go uncorrected by the credit reporting agencies are in violation of
the FRCA. Violations of the FRCA give you leverage to get negative items deleted. The credit
reporting agencies are required to report factually accurate information. Your disputes can be
based off any detail that is not accurate. Several factual disputes to look for are:
(1) Late Payments.
(2) Wrong Credit Limit.
(3) Incorrect Balance.
(4) Incorrect Opening Date.
(5) Incorrect Account Type.
(6) Re-Aged Accounts.
(7) Accounts Sold or Transferred.
(8) Incorrect Account Status
(9) Inaccurate Charge-Off Date
(10) Incorrect Highest Credit Amount you have used.
(11) Incorrect Balance
(12) Accounts not listed in Bankruptcy (this is really a score killer because accounts could
appear seriously delinquent and outstanding when they are actually included in a bankruptcy
filing).
Verifying common disputes such as “account not mine” is easily done by the credit reporting
agencies. Do not waste a lot of time disputing an account as not yours when it really is yours.
However, trying to verify other facts such as those listed above are not as easy. DISPUTE ONE
FACTUAL REASON AT A TIME! You may not get the desired result the first time. Save some for
future disputes, if needed.
The Dispute Process
The first important point to realize is that credit repair is legal. You have a legal right to repair
your credit and question negative items in your credit files. Some negative credit information is
more damaging than others. The following subjects will help you begin the dispute process.
Writing a straightforward, precise dispute letter is imperative. You want your letter read, acted
upon, and not discarded as frivolous. Keep good records as you may need them later. The
credit reporting agencies have 30 days after receipt of dispute to conduct an investigation and
resolve the matter. If you have documentation to support your dispute include that with your
dispute letter. See “How to Write a Dispute Letter.”
Avoid On-Line Disputes
Initiating credit disputes on-line is convenient. But, disputing credit on-line may lead you to
dispute every negative item at once. Do not make this mistake! Even though a few items may be
removed via on-line disputes, those items may be re-inserted at a later date. Any future disputes
of the re-inserted items may be marked as frivolous and not investigated again. The credit
reporting agencies can reject further disputes for up to 12 months. Additionally, online disputes
limit the facts on which you can dispute a negative credit item.
Create an Emergency
The credit bureaus receive a vast amount of disputes daily so make sure you create an
emergency so that your dispute is taken seriously. Let them know you are in the process of
obtaining a mortgage loan and the errors in your report are hurting your chances of being
approved and/or causing the lender to only offer subprime interest rates. Those are just
examples but you get the drift.
Collection Agency Debt
Starting the dispute process may alert debt collectors you are attempting to repair your credit. Be
aware that once you begin the dispute process you may have to deal with debt that is still within
the state of limitations which means you could be sued by a debt collector. Debt validation and
debt settlement is an option. Either way, credit repair is still worth the risk as you have consumer
protection laws on your side such as the Fair Debt Practices Collection Act.
Where to Start
Begin the dispute process with the credit reporting agencies first. You may get the negative item
deleted and no further action has to be taken. If you start disputing directly with a creditor first,
you could end up engaging in a longer battle to get an item deleted.
Deletion is the Goal
Request full deletions when disputing credit, especially for credit score killing items such as
collection accounts. Having an item changed from “collection” to “paid collection” will not help
your credit score. Paid and unpaid collection items hold the same weight as they are both
negative tradelines. See Deletions
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
Be careful about disputing old debts. You could bring the debt back to life by disputing it and
awaken the creditor’s or collection agency’s interest in collecting the debt. If the debt is within the
Statute of Limitations, you could get sued. If the statute of limitations has expired, you are safe
from a lawsuit. Be careful not to do anything that may re-start the statute of limitations by
acknowledging, making a payment or even agreeing to pay on the debt.
Factual Based Disputes
Credit item disputes based upon factual errors stand a greater chance of being deleted.
Disputes that are factual and go uncorrected by the credit reporting agencies are in violation of
the FRCA. Violations of the FRCA give you leverage to get negative items deleted. The credit
reporting agencies are required to report factually accurate information. Your disputes can be
based off any detail that is not accurate. Several factual disputes to look for are:
(1) Late Payments.
(2) Wrong Credit Limit.
(3) Incorrect Balance.
(4) Incorrect Opening Date.
(5) Incorrect Account Type.
(6) Re-Aged Accounts.
(7) Accounts Sold or Transferred.
(8) Incorrect Account Status
(9) Inaccurate Charge-Off Date
(10) Incorrect Highest Credit Amount you have used.
(11) Incorrect Balance
(12) Accounts not listed in Bankruptcy (this is really a score killer because accounts could
appear seriously delinquent and outstanding when they are actually included in a bankruptcy
filing).
Verifying common disputes such as “account not mine” is easily done by the credit reporting
agencies. Do not waste a lot of time disputing an account as not yours when it really is yours.
However, trying to verify other facts such as those listed above are not as easy. DISPUTE ONE
FACTUAL REASON AT A TIME! You may not get the desired result the first time. Save some for
future disputes, if needed.
The Dispute Process
The first important point to realize is that credit repair is legal. You have a legal right to repair
your credit and question negative items in your credit files. Some negative credit information is
more damaging than others. The following subjects will help you begin the dispute process.
- How to Write a Dispute Letter
- What you should know before disputing Collection Accounts
- How to Dispute Collection Accounts: The Validation-Verification Strategy
- How to Dispute Collection Accounts: Dispute within the Listing Strategy
- How to Dispute Charge-Offs
- How to dispute late payments with the creditor or credit bureaus
- How to Remove a Bankruptcy from Credit Reports
- How to Dispute Tax Liens
- How to Dispute Judgments
- How to Dispute Credit Inquiries
- What is Re-Aging an Account and how it is Illegal
- Steps to take if an account has been Re-Aged
- How to Request Re-Investigation of Previously Disputed Credit Items
- What to Do when an Item is Re-Inserted
- How to Request Method of Verification for verified disputes
- What is the E-Oscar Method Investigation
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