The Key to Winning Disputes With Credit Bureaus – Know Your Rights!
The federal government established the Fair Credit Reporting Act on April 25, 1971 so as to protect consumers against having inaccurate, misleading or obsolete information included in their credit reports. The intent in this law was that the credit bureaus should operate in a reasonable and fair manner when they work with consumers.
The FCRA, or Fair Credit Reporting Act, breaks out a list of procedures and rights for you to follow when you challenge any information; in doing so, you can clear negative information off your credit report and reestablish your good credit history. This is true, by the way, regardless of what your past credit history has been. By understanding your rights and using this information to your advantage, you can truly remove information about late payments, collection accounts, bankruptcy filings, judgments, charge-offs, and other negative information from your files. Once done, the removal is permanent.
The first step is to obtain copies of your credit reports from each of the major credit bureaus. You can find the address of your local credit bureau in the yellow pages under “Credit-Reporting Agencies.” If you have been denied credit within the past 60 days, you can obtain a free copy of your report by enclosing a photocopy of the denial letter along with your request. Be sure to include your full name, date of birth, Social Security number, and addresses for the past five years. If you have not been denied credit within the last 60 days, you may purchase a copy of your report from each credit bureau. In California, for example, the cost for a copy of your report is $8 from each of the major bureaus. The cost may vary in other states.
In addition, you can also visit credit bureaus in person and ask to review your file. Call the bureau in question and ask to make an appointment. Then, present the proper identification and pay the fee necessary. You can also be accompanied by one of the person you choose if you wish to do so. The law gives you this right.
You can also request a credit report by mail, and if you do, you should receive a copy within three weeks. Along with it, you should also receive an explanation of the various abbreviations encodes the report contains. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to challenge any remark on your report that you think is incomplete or inaccurate. Those items must be investigated by the credit bureau within a reasonable period of time, usually about 30 days. If it’s found that this information is somehow inaccurate, incorrect, out of date, or can’t be verified in longer, it has to correct or take the information off your file.
In addition, if the bureau does not respond to your initial dispute challenge within a reasonable time, you can follow up with another letter. This time, demand (don’t request) that the bureau should respond to your dispute investigation request immediately, or you will be forced to take legal action. Wait about two weeks in order to give them time to comply, and make sure you keep copies of all correspondence you undertake.
If the credit bureau in question still refuses to investigate legitimate dispute challenges, and therefore are in violation of your rights, you can send them a final letter demanding that they follow through and meet your request. When you do this, send copies of your original request and of your previous letter to your local attorney general’s office and the Federal Trade Commission, plus of course to the bureau you’re dealing with.
