Specific Steps to Take

• Start off by making a copy of your credit report. Keep the original in a file that eventually will contain all of the documentation regarding the error.
• On the copy of your report, mark the error. Send this to the credit bureau, along with the dispute form that you should have received with your report. If you don’t have the dispute form or don’t want to use it, it is always acceptable to send a letter instead.
• In addition to the letter and the copy of the credit report, you’ll also need to send documentation that supports your claim that the item is wrong.
• If you don’t already have documentation to support your claim, you will want to contact the creditor that submitted the information first. For instance, if a loan shows up as outstanding and it has been paid off, get a letter from the lender stating the correct information.
• Send your letter, the copy of the report and documentation via certified mail with a return receipt, so you have proof that you mailed these items and that the credit bureau received them.
• Be sure to keep a copy of your letter and/or the dispute form, as well as anything else you send to the credit bureau. And keep everything you receive from the bureau, as well.
• If you speak with someone at the credit bureau by phone, take notes and make sure to get the person’s name. Also note the date and time of your call.

By law, the CRA has to investigate your dispute within 30 days of receiving your letter. (The exception would be if the CRA decides that your claim is “frivolous” or “irrelevant.”)

Any item that the CRA cannot verify as accurate must be removed from your credit report.

If the credit bureau makes a change to your report, the company must send you a revised version.

The CRA cannot put the information back on your credit report unless the creditor in question later verifies the accuracy of the information. If this does happen, the CRA has to notify you that the info is back on your report.

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