File any disputes directly with the credit reporting agencies
You MUST file any disputes directly with the Big Three credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union. The FCRA contains a strange quirk. While a provider has a duty under the Act to provide accurate debt information to consumer reporting agencies (CRAs), you cannot sue a provider for providing false, misleading, or incomplete information. Rather, in order to trigger liability under the Act, a provider must first receive notice of a dispute from a CRA. This is not to say that you should not file a dispute directly with the provider, but you must do so along with the dispute letters to the CRA.
What to put in a dispute letter
A dispute letter must contain the following:
- The full legal name of the consumer, including any suffixes such as Jr. or Sr.
- The current address of the consumer and any other address where the consumer has lived in the last two years.
- The consumer’s date of birth.
- The consumer’s social security number. For security reasons, you should limit this to the last four digits of the SSN # clearly identified as such. For example, –1234.
- The full name of the consumer’s spouse if married.
- A clear and simple description of the dispute. The consumer should include a copy of the credit report with the disputed item circled or highlighted to avoid any claims of confusion as to the disputed item in question.
- An explanation of the dispute. For example, if it is a Chase credit card account and the consumer does not have credit cards with Chase, the letter must state that the account does not belong to the consumer and therefore the consumer does not owe the account in item listed on the credit report. or any other Chase credit card account.
- The letter must clearly and clearly request that the disputed item be deleted or removed from the consumer’s credit report.
Support Documentation
Most sources will advise you to include copies of any supporting documentation with your dispute letter, including the FTC. But I think it’s best to wait. If a CRA concludes that a consumer’s initial dispute is frivolous, the agency may treat any repeated disputes based on the same information as frivolous. But the consumer can avoid this trap by including additional information in a subsequent dispute letter. So I think it’s best to have at least some documentary evidence to use in a subsequent dispute letter.
The dispute letter must come from the consumer
The FCRA is clear that the consumer must send the dispute letter directly to the CRA: “…if the consumer disputes the completeness or accuracy of any item of information contained in a consumer’s file with a consumer reporting agency of the consumer and the consumer notifies the agency directly…” 15 USCA § 1681i(a). However, an attorney can draft a letter on behalf of the consumer and still meet the requirements of the statute.
Consider including an affidavit
You can turn a dispute letter into an affidavit by signing it under oath and notarizing it. You could also include a separate signed and notarized affidavit. An affidavit can increase the credibility of your claim and thus cause a credit reporting agency to take your dispute more seriously.
keep records
Document everything. Dispute letters must be sent by certified mail with a return receipt requested. Keep the green card return. Keep copies of all dispute letters. Keep copies of all correspondence from credit reporting agencies. Keep copies of your credit reports. Keep copies of your expenses. Document any phone calls. Start a file and keep it updated.
Be patient
Correcting mistakes on a credit report takes work and effort. A CRA has 30 days to respond to a dispute letter. Most likely, the first dispute letter will not solve the problem, neither will the second, nor the third, etc. Like the woman in the 60 Minutes story, it can take years for a consumer to fix the problem on their own.
early start
Most people only notice errors on their credit reports after they’ve been denied credit, turned down for a job, etc. The best practice is to be proactive. Check your credit report before it becomes a problem. If there are mistakes, start the long road to fixing the mistakes now so that the mistakes don’t cost you later.
