Dispute Credit Report Errors to Better Your Credit Scores

August 26th, 2010 // filed under: Buying a Home, Credit Score, FHA Mortgages, MD, Mortgages, Rentals, Renting A Home, Southern Maryland, VA Mortgages

A study back in 2004 found that over 80% of credit reports have errors on them – and many are quick to assume that has not changed for the better in the years since. These errors could be falsely lowering your credit score and keeping you from obtaining the credit you need or paying more interest for it than you should. When you are trying to get the best interest rate on a mortgage, having a strong credit score and error-free reports help your cause. While it may be a little time consuming, reviewing and disputing errors on your credit reports can save you lots of money in the long run.

Check out all three of your credit reports for free at annualcreditreport.com. Or, if you’ve already used your freebies for this year, go directly to each reporting agency website to order a more recent report: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.
Look over all reports for any derogatory errors.
Contact the credit bureau and dispute them. This can be done online and/or in writing. Be sure to describe the error and explain in a clear, concise way why it should be removed from your report. Also, submit copies – NOT ORIGINALS – of any documentation supporting your argument. And since credit reports don’t always have your current contact information, be sure to include your current address and telephone number.
Contact the creditor/company furnishing the negative item to the credit bureaus. Request in writing to investigate the dispute and share its information with the bureau. Be as specific as possible when detailing dates and amounts in dispute, and again, send supporting documentation.
By federal law, if you request the creditor/company to investigate and you provide them with your correct contact information and account number, they MUST investigate per a federal law passed in July 2009. Ask to be cc’d on everything they send to the bureau. This investigation normally takes about 30 days to complete, so start the timer with the day your information is received by the creditor/company.
If the credit report does indeed have an error, request the corrected report be sent to everyone requesting it in the past six months.

Remember to send all letters by certified mail and request a return receipt so no one can say that your letter got lost in the mail. Federal Express or UPS may not be the best bet, since they cannot deliver to PO boxes.

Jeff Halbert, Senior Loan Officer