Credit Repair Dispute Letter Process
A Credit Article Contributed by Brandie King
Credit Repair Dispute Letter Process
As you may or may not know, there is absolutely no need to hire a credit repair company to complete the credit repair dispute letter process for you. You can do it all yourself for as little as the cost of paper, envelopes, and three stamps.
Credit Repair Dispute Letter Step 1
The first step in disputing inaccurate items on your credit reports is to obtain copies of your reports from each of the three credit bureaus. Keep in mind that your credit report with each of the three bureaus is different from the others because your creditors do not always report to all three bureaus. Creditor A might report to Experian while creditor B reports to Trans Union. You can contact each of the three bureaus directly and request your credit report.
Due to the new FCRA Act of 2003 all credit bureaus are required by law to provide you with one free copy of your credit report per year, with the only exception being if you are denied credit. Additional copies will cost $9 per bureau.
Equifax, 1-800-685-1111, http://www.equifax.com
Experian, 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742), http://www.experian.com
Trans Union, 1-800-916-8800, http://www.transunion.com
Credit Repair Dispute Letter Step 2
The next step is for you to sit down with each of your credit report and thoroughly examine them. Make notes of which ones you believe are inaccurate or shouldn't be there at all as well as any accounts that have been inactive for more than 7 years. Keep a separate list for each of your three credit reports. An easy way to do this is to make copies of the reports and highlight errors, inaccurate information, and old accounts on the copies. Keep in mind that you can't have accurate negative information removed.
Credit Repair Dispute Letter Step 3
After evaluating your reports and identifying the items you want to dispute you will need to write a separate letter to each of the three credit bureaus. For each item you are disputing you need to list the name of the item, the amount of the item, the collection agency, why it is incorrect, and what you want done about it (corrected or removed). If a debt shows up on more than one credit bureau's report you have to contact each bureau separately about it.
With each letter include your name, Social Security Number, full address, a copy of your drivers license, a copy (not the original) of the corresponding credit report, and any proof you have that the disputed items are incorrect (such as canceled checks showing you paid a debt in full). Visit Credit InfoCenter at http://www.creditinfocenter.com/forms/index.shtml for a sample letter that also includes what you can say to get old accounts removed.
Always send any letters and correspondence via certified or registered mail so that you will have proof they were received.
Credit Repair Dispute Letter Step 4
Keep copies of all letters, correspondence, and proof (like canceled checks) that you both send and receive, as well as the original credit reports you received. If at some later date a removed item shows back up on your credit report then you will have the proof you need to show that the item had previously been removed. Also keep detailed records of any phone conversations that you have, including the name of the person you talked to.
If the credit bureaus can't verify the entries on your report that you are disputing then they have to remove them. After they are finished investigating and correcting items they will send you a "repaired" credit report. Compare the original report you received with this corrected report. You may need to complete the above steps multiple times to get all items corrected.
