How to Dispute a Credit Report Error: Step by Step, With Deadlines

Errors often appear on one bureau's report and not the others, so pull all three. The FTC says Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have permanently extended a program that lets you check your report from each once a week for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. That is the only official free source; sites that ask for a card number to "unlock" a free report are selling something else.

Go through each credit report line by line and flag anything that is wrong or incomplete. Common errors include:

• Identity errors: wrong name, address, or Social Security number, or accounts that belong to someone else. When another person's accounts appear, it may be a mixed credit file.
• Account errors: a paid account shown as unpaid, a closed account shown as open, a wrong balance or credit limit, or the same debt listed twice. See the Equifax duplicate collection settlement for an example of that last problem.
• Payment history errors: late payments you did not make.
• Outdated information: most negative items must come off after 7 years, and bankruptcies after 10.
• Fraud: accounts opened by an identity thief.

If an account is fraudulent, you have faster tools. An identity theft report from IdentityTheft.gov lets you ask the bureaus to block those accounts, as our FACTA guide explains.

You can dispute online, by phone, or by mail. Online is fastest, but a mailed letter sent certified with return receipt gives you the clearest record of what you sent and when. Whichever you choose, include:

• Your full name, address, and date of birth.
• Each item you are disputing, with the account number, and a plain explanation of why it is wrong.
• What you want done: correct it or delete it.
• Copies, never originals, of your proof: payment confirmations, bank statements, letters from the lender, a court order, or a police or identity theft report.
• A copy of the report page with the error circled or highlighted.

The FTC lists these mailing addresses and phone numbers for disputes:

The lender, card issuer, or collector that sent the information to the bureaus is called the furnisher. The FTC recommends disputing with it too, using the same details and proof. Many furnishers list a dispute address on your report or website; if you cannot find one, call and ask.

Once a furnisher gets your dispute, it must investigate. If it keeps reporting the information, it must tell the bureaus that you dispute it, and if it finds the information was wrong, it must notify all three nationwide bureaus so they can fix it.

Disputing through the bureau matters for your legal rights: under 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(c), you generally cannot sue a furnisher over a dispute you sent only to the furnisher, but you can if the bureau forwarded your dispute and the furnisher failed to investigate properly. That is why the best practice is to do both.

The FCRA's reinvestigation rules, in 15 U.S.C. 1681i, set the clock:

Under 15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)(1), a credit bureau must investigate your dispute for free and correct or delete inaccurate or unverifiable information within 30 days of receiving it. If the result changes your report, you get a free copy, and it does not count as your free annual report.

A bureau may stop investigating a dispute it reasonably finds "frivolous or irrelevant," often because you did not give enough information. It must tell you and explain why within 5 business days of that decision. The fix is to resubmit with more detail and proof.

If deleted information comes back, the furnisher must first certify that it is accurate, and the bureau must notify you in writing within 5 business days of putting it back.

Bureaus often handle disputes by sending a short code to the furnisher and accepting whatever comes back. If the error survives, you have options:

1. Dispute again with new proof. A second dispute with documents the bureau has not seen, such as a letter from the lender admitting the mistake, is not frivolous.
2. Add a statement of dispute. You can ask the bureau to include a brief statement in your file, and it may limit the statement to 100 words if it helps you write it.
3. File a complaint with the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. The CFPB forwards complaints to the company, and it says most companies respond within 15 days.
4. Complain to your state attorney general, who also enforces credit reporting laws.
5. Talk to an attorney. A bureau that fails to follow reasonable procedures or to reinvestigate properly can be liable under the FCRA.

For a willful FCRA violation, 15 U.S.C. 1681n allows actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, plus punitive damages and attorney fees; a negligent violation allows actual damages and fees. Actual damages can include a denied loan, a higher interest rate, or emotional distress. Our FCRA guide covers the law in detail, and the credit report error lawsuit page explains how these cases work. Class settlements also arise when a bureau makes the same mistake for many people, as in the TransUnion inaccurate report settlement.

If you disputed an error the right way and a bureau or lender refused to fix it, and you were denied credit or paid more because of it, a free case review can connect you with independent attorneys who handle FCRA claims.