Credit Report Disputes

Protect your rights under the FCRA

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA for short) is a federal law that protects consumers. The credit “bureaus,” aka credit reporting agencies (CRAs for short) are required to have reasonable procedures in place to ensure the maximum possible accuracy of the information they keep and share about you.

The FCRA also obligates entities like banks and other furnishers of information to reinvestigate in response to a consumer dispute. Keep reading to find out more about disputes.

False Info on Your Credit? The Fair Credit Reporting Act Gives Consumers the Right to Dispute

Inaccurate info on your credit report? The FCRA gives consumers the right to dispute it.

In most situations, “inaccurate” means objectively wrong, such as information that belongs to someone else, or information that is yours but otherwise false.

For example, if your credit file is mixed up with someone else, you might see a different name, or debts you don’t recognize. If you are a victim of identity theft, it might be in your name, but there could be addresses and accounts that are unfamiliar.

Inaccurate info also includes things like a mortgage or credit card that is yours, but the status of it is messed up. For example, it might report as 120 days late even though you did not miss any payments.

The dispute process follows three basic steps.

1. Consumer Disputes

The first step is a consumer dispute, by you, the consumer, to the credit reporting agencies. It's best to do this in writing, and not by phone or online, because then you can tell your whole story. It's also best to do this yourself, and not pay someone else (like a credit repair shop) because rarely will that be a thorough, detailed dispute.

2. Reinvestigation

The credit reporting agency is supposed to "re"-investigate the accuracy of the information that you say is incorrect. If there is a "furnisher" (creditor or other source of info) reporting that information to the credit reporting agency, the agency is supposed to tell the furnisher about your dispute and include all relevant information with it so the furnisher can look into it.

3. Dispute Results

Finally, after all that reinvestigation, the credit reporting agency is supposed to notify you of the results, within 30 days. Sometimes they get it right, your credit report is corrected and you ride off into the sunset. But sometimes the false information persists. The strength of your potential FCRA case can depend largely on how thorough you were in your disputes. Keep reading.

How to dispute false information on your credit report

First let’s dispel some common misunderstandings about the process. Contrary to popular belief, if there is false information on your credit report, the last thing in the world you need is “credit repair.”

One of the worst things you can do is pay someone else to dispute for you, because a form letter sent by a credit repair shop is often treated as frivolous or suspicious, which doesn’t help.

One of the best things you can do is do your own disputes IN WRITING, on paper, (snail) MAILED, and not online or by phone, even though that seems faster and like less work. (Trust me, it’s not.)

Disputes are appropriate under most circumstances before you should sue a credit reporting agency, and are always necessary before you can sue a furnisher under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

If you’re reading this, you probably already know that there’s something on your credit that is false. But it’s always best to get your credit reports from the most official source for free and complete credit reports, annualcreditreport.com, so you can be fully informed of the problem.

Here are some sample credit report dispute letters!

What to do if you are a victim of identity theft

If you are a victim of identity theft, it can be frightening and overwhelming. You must act quickly to shore up your finances, dispute unauthorized transactions, report the fraud and theft to law enforcement, and freeze your credit reports so fraudsters can’t open up more fake accounts in your name.

Even though your local law enforcement might not do anything to help you, it’s vital that you file a report with them and then get a copy of the report. Why? Because your willingness to report to the police under risk of prosecution for filing a false report bolsters your credibility when you are dealing with banks and the credit reporting agencies.

Attaching a police report with your dispute to the credit reporting agencies also triggers certain important rights that ID theft victims have. When you send in a police report with your dispute, credit reporting agencies are required to promptly block fraudulent accounts from appearing on your credit reports, and notify the other credit reporting agencies of the issue.

Here are some links to law enforcement agencies in Western Washington:

South Sound 911, for Pierce County

If you live within the City of Tacoma, report to TacomaSafe

Olympia, WA Identity Theft Report

Thurston County police reports

Seattle Police Department Identity Theft Report

King County identity theft report

Live elsewhere in Washington State? Check out the Attorney General’s page, and call your local police to be directed to the right place.

It can also be helpful to include an FTC identity theft affidavit along with your credit report dispute.

Again, just like I’ve said elsewhere on this page, it’s really important to do your dispute in writing and not online or by phone.

Many banks and debt collectors will make you jump through the hoop of giving them a police report or filling out a fraud packet. They might still not decide in your favor, but it’s critical for your case against them to have a good paper trail. So save copies of everything, and save your mail receipts!

There is a comprehensive United States government educational resource page outlining each step you are to take if you are a victim of identity theft, which is identitytheft.gov.

What the heck is a mixed credit file?

Sometimes when somebody else’s information is on your credit report, it isn’t identity theft at all. It’s not some random thief who took out accounts in your name. It’s the fault of the credit reporting agency, who may have combined your information with somebody else’s information and threw it all in the proverbial blender.

How does this happen? The credit reporting agencies use algorithms — fancy math based on probabilities where computers do the work behind the scenes — to decide what information is attributed to you, and what information gets published about you to creditors, insurance companies and employers.

And because the computer looks for generalities and patterns, debt belonging to someone with a similar social security number or name who lives in a different town might wind up on your credit file.

What’s especially frustrating for consumers is that when you try to get your credit report, if you are mixed up with another consumer, the screening questions might be wholly unfamiliar to you. It can prevent you from even seeing your own credit report (that’s another legal claim, by the way).

If you are going in circles with what seems to be an identity theft problem, but you’re seeing “variations” of your name or other people’s names, addresses, telephone numbers and employers on your credit report, you might have a mixed file. If you are only able to get your credit report from one or two of the three big CRAs (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) and at least one of the credit reports has other people blended with you, you might have a mixed file.

Not a lot of people, even attorneys, know how to look at credit reports to see the telltale signs of a mixed file vs. identity theft, so if you can relate to anything described above, contact an experienced FCRA lawyer.

Credit Reports: Exactly Where and How to Get Them

Get your credit reports. And you should get them in a specific way.

Go to annualcreditreport.com.

When you go to annualcreditreport.com, do not sign up for any subscription, membership, service, or account with any of the big three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union). They’re not necessary.

It’s not necessary to purchase the FICO score.

Save page of each of those three credit reports, saved as PDF files where all the text is contained within the page and is not cut off.

You might need to adjust down to 85% or 90% before saving the file as a PDF from the print window so that the text isn’t cut off. I have seen this be an issue with Trans Union in particular, so eyeball it before you send it to me.

If you have Credit Karma or some other kind of credit report, save those too, but it often isn’t enough. So, get your *current* credit reports at annualcreditreport.com.

If you have trouble getting the credit reports or the screening questions are wholly unfamiliar to you, make note of that too, because there may be a legal right of yours that’s being violated.

You can also get a mail-in form here.

And finally, if you have what’s called a “tri-merge” credit report (typically you get these from a mortgage lender) ask if they’ll give it to you. Sometimes mortgage lenders will claim they are not allowed to give you a copy of those. That’s not true. They are simply not required to give you a copy of the report, but it is permitted. In any event, they are required to send you disclosure of your credit score and the factors that led to the credit decision, called an Adverse Action notice.

Credit Monitoring, Memberships, and Accounts with the Bureaus and Other Entities

Having an account or membership with Equifax, Experian, Trans Union or anyone else is not necessary. They do not improve your credit score, make the banks like you more, give you a better interest rate, or make it more likely you'll get approved for credit. You are not going to get an adult merit badge or be more interesting at parties. It doesn't make you a more responsible person to have such accounts, and they're not going to stop hackers and identity thieves. (Identitytheft.gov is completely free and walks you through what to do.)

You are not a "member" of anything. You are their product, and they make money off of knowing more about you than your own mother. So...why would you give them money? Yep, avocado toast and fancy coffee deliver more value.

If you sign up for a membership, account, or credit monitoring with a credit reporting agency, it's probable that the fine print says you are giving up your day in court if they harm you. Don't give up your precious constitutional rights!

So, when you are at annualcreditreport.com getting your reports, don't be lured into clicking on the buttons like the one below that make it seem good or easy to create a "free account." I circled the one you should click!

The Best Way to Dispute to Protect Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act

In WRITING, via CERTIFIED MAIL. Especially if you have already disputed by phone or online and been denied.

Disputing by phone or online is actually a terrible idea when the circumstances surrounding your dispute don’t fit into the overly-basic categories the credit reporting agency has in its phone system or online dispute system.

Only a written letter sent via certified mail will permit you to explain how and why the information on your credit report is false.

The entities who report information to the credit reporting agencies (such as banks) are required to delete any unverifiable information. It is possible that they will cease credit reporting of the false information but still hold you responsible for repayment, but your consumer rights and contract defenses under state law would still apply to you.

But, if the entity reporting something on your credit keeps reporting it after you dispute to the credit reporting agencies, you may have a Fair Credit Reporting Act claim against whoever is reporting it. And in most situations, these disputes are a necessary first step before it’s a wise idea to bring a lawsuit.

Check out my sample letter for identity theft disputes and mixed file disputes here, and my sample letter for other credit report disputes here.

What happens after you mail your dispute to the credit reporting agencies

The credit reporting agencies are generally obligated to reinvestigate your dispute. If you are disputing a creditor's information, they are required to send all relevant information you include with your dispute to the creditor (called the "furnisher" in FCRA-speak).

False info on my credit report is keeping me from getting housing or a job. Do I HAVE to dispute?

I get it. It's a dumpster fire!
Very rarely, if a person is a victim of a mixed credit file, and it's obvious (to me, after my analysis) that the false information originated with the credit reporting agency or background check company, it's okay to sue without first disputing. You might have other claims that are ripe and ready to go based on the conduct of some entity that's between you and a house or job.
But, I only recommend this when people need their problem solved urgently and it's like burning money to wait. Litigating these situations with emergency strategies is not ideal. 99% of the time I'm gonna tell you to dispute first.

Important Documents You Need to Save to Protect Your Consumer Rights

Consumer protection and Fair Credit Reporting Act cases are document heavy. Below is a list of the important kinds of documents you should keep in a safe place, and well-organized, depending on the nature of your issue.

Inaccurate Credit Report or Background Check

Credit reports (every page!)
Documents showing your credit score
Written disputes to credit reporting agencies
Responses from the credit reporting agencies explaining what they did with your dispute
Mail receipts, showing mail tracking numbers
Police report
FTC identity theft affidavit
Written documentation that you don't owe the debt
Credit denial paperwork
Text messages or emails with your lender stating why you won't be approved

Identity Theft

Credit reports (every page!)
Documents showing your credit score
Written disputes to credit reporting agencies
Responses from the credit reporting agencies explaining what they did with your dispute
Mail receipts, showing mail tracking numbers
Police report
FTC identity theft affidavit
Written documentation that you don't owe the debt or that you are a different person
Credit denial paperwork
Text messages or emails with your lender stating why you won't be approved

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