Credit report errors and how disputes work

Errors worth looking for

• Accounts belonging to a relative or a stranger with a similar name
• A closed account still reporting as open, or an open one reported as closed
• Balances or credit limits that are wrong or missing (a missing limit distorts utilization)
• Payments reported late that were made on time
• The same debt appearing more than once
• Wrong personal data: addresses you never lived at, misspelled names, wrong employers

Documentation decides the outcome

A dispute is only as strong as the proof attached to it. Bank statements, payment confirmations, letters from the creditor, settlement agreements and identity documents turn an assertion into a verifiable claim.

What the agency must do

Once you dispute, the credit reporting agency generally has 30 days to investigate with the furnisher, and it must forward all relevant information you supplied. It must then delete, correct, or verify the item and send you written results plus a free updated report if anything changed.

If an item is corrected, you can ask that corrected reports be sent to anyone who pulled your file recently.

If the item is verified but you disagree

• Request the method of verification the agency used
• Dispute directly with the furnisher of the information
• Add a 100-word consumer statement to your file
• File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

You can do this yourself

Every consumer has the right to dispute inaccurate information directly with the credit reporting agencies at no cost, and to obtain free copies of their reports through the federally authorized source. People hire us for the audit, the documentation discipline and the follow-through — not for access to a right they already have.