Taking care of your credit is very important since negative marks on your credit report can affect your ability to get a loan or any other new credit. Low credit scores can also make it likely that if you do get approved for credit, your interest rate will be high.
Before you apply for credit, it’s a good idea to make sure you know what’s on your credit report. Did you know that as many as two out of every three consumers find an error on their credit report? Any errors that you find on your credit report should be disputed immediately.
Types of Errors on Credit Reports
There are many different types of errors that you could find on your credit report. You might have paid a loan off, but it’s still showing open. Creditors may report incorrect balances or that you’ve had a past due payment when you haven’t. You may find errors in your personal information such as a wrong address or the misspelling of your name. If you find accounts on your credit report that don’t belong to you, you could have been a victim of identity theft. Whatever type of error you find, dispute it as soon as you can.
What Happens After You File a Dispute?
When you initiate a dispute, the credit bureau investigates your claim. They’ll contact your creditor so they can research their records. The data furnisher is allowed 30 days to respond to a dispute. If the creditor stands by what they’re reporting, you may have to file a new dispute with more documentation to back up your claim. You can also ask the credit bureau to add a statement to your credit report explaining what happened.
You may see other results after a dispute such as deleted or updated. You may wonder “What does it mean when my dispute says ‘verified and updated’?” It could mean that the information you provided has been verified and your credit report has been updated in the way you requested. It could also mean that the creditor has stated the information you’re disputing is accurate, but they’ve updated other information.
If Your Dispute is Denied
If your dispute is denied, contact the creditor or collection agency to explain why you believe they’re reporting information that’s wrong. You can also add a statement of dispute to your credit report or provide additional information to the credit bureau.
If the credit bureau believes your dispute was frivolous, they will stop investigating. If that happens, you’ll need to provide more information. They may consider a dispute frivolous if you repeatedly dispute the same information without providing more documentation. It won’t help you to dispute negative items that are accurate, but you should dispute those that aren’t accurate, providing clear information backing up your claim.
Being Proactive About What’s on Your Credit Report
If there continue to be errors on your credit report, you need to continue to pursue disputing them. If going through the credit bureau is unsuccessful, try contacting the creditor to explain to them why you think the information they’re reporting is incorrect.
You can only dispute information that’s wrong. However, you can’t dispute negative items just because you want them to be removed from your credit report.
Need Help with Disputing Wrong Information on Your Credit Report?
Your credit report affects whether you can borrow money and at what interest rate. It can also affect insurance rates or your ability to get a job or an apartment, so it’s important that your credit report is right. As a consumer, you have the right to have a credit report that’s accurate and fair, and disputing inaccuracies can help you to do that.
Dovly can take care of the dispute process for you. After you review your credit report, simply select what needs to be disputed, and we’ll contact the credit bureaus while you sit back and relax. Dovly is an AI credit engine that can help you track, manage and fix your credit on an ongoing basis. Fixing your credit report doesn’t get easier than this. Try it risk-free with our free membership tier.
Like the article? Spread the word
