Credit Report Dispute
November 23, 2008
To remove negative marks on your credit report you must dispute the credit bureaus. You have two methods to do this.
1. Create a dispute letter
This method requires you to create a dispute letter. In this letter you identify the negative mark you want removed and provide a reason why that mark is inaccurate.
Reasons typically include; item is out of date, information is wrong, not my account, account paid in full and etcetera. This letter will need to be sent to each credit bureau.
2. Hire a professional credit repair firm.
If you choose this option the firm will create a dispute letter for you and send it to the bureaus. The benefit of a firm is they have advanced dispute techniques such as; creditor direct intervention, escalated dispute information requests, and debt validation.
I would suggest hiring a company if you have multiple negative listings on your credit history. However if you only have one or two negative listings you can remove them yourself.
Once the bureaus get your dispute letter and deem it valid they will conduct an investigation. If the item can not be verified then it must be deleted from you credit.
Be aware that often bureaus will use stall tactics to avoid holding an investigation. This is a result of bureaus only spending potential profits when they conduct an investigation.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act says the bureaus must investigate a disputed listing and if it is found unverifiable it must be removed from your report. The difficulty is getting the bureaus to find you dispute letter valid.
If you have trouble I suggest a credit repair firm, however if you are persistent then the bureaus will eventually deem your dispute valid and conduct an investigation.
It is common for investigations to result in removal of negative marks. This is because many lenders are unwilling to spend the time and money to verify a debt.
However you choose to dispute negative marks on your credit, they can be removed. You do not have to live with these marks for seven years.
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