Ann Richter asked:




You are pretty angry. You ordered a copy of your credit report to check out all the information , and lo and behold, you have found several glaring errors that you are chomping at the bit to have corrected. Your first reaction is to pick up the telephone, call up the credit bureau, and give them a piece of your mind, but then the rational side of you takes over, and you realize that it would probably be better to calm down, sit down, and write a credit report dispute letter to attempt to set things straight.

Planning Ahead Pays Off

First of all, plan what you want to say in this letter. You should re-read your credit report, and take careful notes. Ask yourself if there is any way that what the credit bureau is claiming in your report could be true. For example, if one of the errors that is shown is a late payment on one of your credit card accounts, look over your bank statements and/or cancelled check for that month. (You DO keep these important papers, right?) If you do indeed find proof of the payment, then you have the ammunition you need to politely go after the credit bureau and get them to change the information they have about you on file.

Word your letter thoughtfully, and be cordial. You will need to send a copy of your letter to each of the three “big” credit bureaus – TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Calmly state the facts in a way similar to the example below -

Dear (Credit Bureau Name Here)

I recently requested a copy of my credit file so that I could check it out for any erroneous information. Much to my surprise, I found a glaring error which I dispute and that I would like to request correction for. You have not credited me for my (Month and Date Here) payment to (Name of Business Here). This is a definite mistake, as I am in possession of the cancelled check for this payment, which I am enclosing a photocopy of.

Hopefully, this was simply an oversight on your part. I am sure that you realize that the omission of this information could have serious repercussions to the accuracy of my credit file. There is a law in this country which states that credit bureaus can only use accurate information in a consumer’s credit file. Obviously, in my own credit file, the law has been broken.

I am sure that you will be more than happy to take care of this matter for me, and correct my file to reflect this payment.

Cordially,

(Your Name Here)

Along with each letter you send out, include your full name as listed in your credit report, your address, your driver’s license, your Social Security number, a copy of the credit report where the erroneous information was located, and a copy of your roof, such as the cancelled check.

Keep a copy of everything you send, and note the date you mail it. It’s a good idea to use certified or registered mail for an “official” proof of mailing date. You will need this just in case you need to send out again to someone higher on the corporate ladder of the credit bureau.

Sara

LusciousLady asked:


Recently I’ve been looking to fix my credit. Its nothing major just a few minor things and I’ve been reading alot of information. I read that If I’m denied for credit that I can send proof and request a FREE credit report being that I’ve already used my one for the year. Can I send that to all three bureaus?

Arthur

Tim Gorman asked:




Many people who look into their reports find that their credit information has errors and those errors usually affect your credit negatively.

Maintaining an accurate score sometimes requires us to be pro-active, and we must write letters to remove information off our credit report. These are sent to the big 3 credit bureaus. Although in many cases the first thing most people want to do is to call the Credit Bureau and tell them off, this would be counterproductive. Instead the best method would be to sit down and write a credit report dispute letter.

You should read your credit report, take notes as to what you consider the problem areas are and think whether what’s on the report could actually be true. If, in finding that what’s on the report is false, you need to think through how you’re going to word your letters to remove info off credit report. You’re going to have to send a copy of this letter to each of the three main credit bureaus: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Be polite and state facts as you see them. See example letter below.

Dear (credit bureau name here),

After looking at a copy of my credit file, I found that it contained erroneous information. I would like to dispute this information and request a correction. I am concerned about the information that you have put in my credit report as it could seriously impair the credit rating I enjoy with lending institutions.

You have not (state the problem here).

Be sure to include the month, and the date, and the name of the business.

I am enclosing a photocopy of my cancelled check as proof of my payment. Hopefully, this will correct the accuracy of my credit file. As you are certainly aware of, the credit bureaus are only allowed to use accurate information in a consumer’s credit file.

Thank you for correcting the above errors to insure that it doesn’t impair my personal credit. Please contact me as soon as the correction has been made and my credit report is again accurate. Please send a copy of my credit report to: (place mailing address here).

Yours,

(Your name)

Be sure to include your full name as listed in your credit report, address, Social Security number, copy of your driver’s license, copy of the credit report, and copy of your proof, i.e. cancelled check.

Be sure to retain a copy of whatever you send to each credit bureau. Make a note of the date that you mail your letters to remove info off credit report. Using certified or registered mail is a good idea, as this will give you proof of the mailing date.

Joan

Emily asked:


I owed $900 to a local hospital. They wanted me to pay $130 a month, but I couldn’t afford it. I made one payment of $130. Then I signed up for a debt consolidation program through a company called Care One.

Care One sent out a proposal to the hospital, asking them to accept a smaller payment every month. The hospital sent me a letter saying that they would accept $50 a month. I kept the letter. I pay them $50 a month, and I make every payment on time.

But they sent me a letter saying that I broke the payment agreement because I didn’t pay $130 a month. They sent my account to an outside collections agency. I just checked my credit report. It shows that the account has been in collections for three months.

I recently got a letter from the collections agency, saying that I have 30 days to dispute it. Why didn’t they send me a letter BEFORE they reported it to the credit bureaus?

I looked at some of my old bills from the hospital. I read them carefully. I saw that at the end of each bill, they left a note, threatening to send my account to collections. I still have their letter, saying that they agreed to take $50 a month. But was I supposed to call and remind them about it? Is it too late for me to dispute this and get it off of my credit report?
The hospital says that they didn’t agree to take $50. I have the letter as proof, but their billing department says they don’t have record of sending me that letter.
Care One sent the hospial a form, asking them to accept like $16 a month. The hospital filled out the form, saying that they would accept the program if we agreed to pay $50 a month.

Mark

Kimberly B asked:


I have heard this often. That you can send registered letters denying the debts one by one to the three credit reporting bureaus and if they didn’t provide proof of the debts within 30 days or something that they had to remove the debts. Everything except judgements. Is this true? If so, how is it done exactly?

Henry

Ashley asked:


I am in the process of buying a house and previously I had two debts on my credit report – that was it. So I basically had no credit. I paid one the other day and I called to pay the other and they said I paid it in 2005, but for some reason it’s still on there.

I tried calling Transunion but just got to speak with an obviously Indian man who I could barely understand and he didn’t understand my question and I’d rather not have to go that route. Can I just mail all three credit agencies the proof of payment and some kind of letter? Who do I address it to? I want to make sure it gets into the right hands. Is there one central credit bureau I can mail the letter to and be done with it?

Any info would be so helpful. I’m closing in less than a month and everything else is fine. Just this one silly issue is holding everything up.

Brandon

Tony G asked:


I have just recieved my free annual credit report from all three credit bureau’s, and i see alot of things that i do not recall ever getting… how can i fight these claims to get proof that they are mine? i beleave it might be credit card fraud. and links will be extremely helpful.
let me rephrase the question… i want to despute everything on my credit report with all 3 cred bureau’s; how do i got by doing this? LINKS PLEASE!!!!

Peggy

ninfragile19 asked:


Lately, I have been receiving numerous phone calls to my cell phone on a daily basis from (800) 240-1195. Doing a reverse lookup, I discovered that the number belongs to CBCS, a nation-wide collection agency. Recently, they have started leaving generic voicemails stating that they’re trying to collect a debt and to give them a call. They don’t mention my name or what it’s for. I pulled my three-bureau FICO credit reports last week for an unrelated matter and all of them came out excellent with no notes or comments regarding collections. I’m in the middle of a dispute with another collection agency for a past-due landline phone bill that never belonged to me at an address I have never lived at. That situation is about to be settled since I provided the proof they need to show it’s not mine. However, I don’t want to go through that same process for whoever is calling me now from CBCS. Should I just ignore the calls or actually answer them to find out what the heck is going on?

Jim

n10selady75 asked:


For Nov and Dec 2006 only half payments were made each time. I don’t remember making half payments twice and can only find the bank transaction for two half payments to the lender.

Both paid in the months due but reported to the credit bureaus as late payments by 30 days at least 2 times. This reporting has brought my credit score down I’m sure. Can I dispute it?

I have proof of the half payments. If I submit it to the bureaus will they retract it so that it does not read that way on my credit report? I was told that if you pay something they can’t report it as late or unpaid for that month. I didn’t make half payments deliberately as I would not have done that twice.

Also, Does correcting multiple mistakes like address and name mistakes raise your credit score? I pulled all three reports and they all have multiple variations of my name, past addresses, and places of employment. Does that bring my score down due to suspicion? Do disputes look bad?
Well I agree that it was not the full payment that I agreed to pay. However, it was a payment. Should I just add comments to my credit report that I made payments for those months so that it won’t seem like I just abandoned two months. Or should I just leave well enough alone.

I think it’s junky for all of those misnformations to be on the credit report. Any teacher would give a junky paper a low grade and a well put together paper a higher grade. I had one creditor pull my report for me and it was pulled by inputting the wrong name. All throughout the report it read that incorrect name so I expect that will be another addition to the report. This is so frustrating. I was doing so well and now I have those marks.
Bostonian, thanks for your response but relax your getting irritated helps nothing, It’s my lender’s loan and my credit. Nothing affects you. I don’t have any other blemishes so it’s a lesson learned. I didn’t say I should get a free ride. Obviously if I have a house and a loan I haven’t been mooching off of anyone as you say. No point in you gettting your blood pressure up. Hope you calm down later.

Gina