“There’s so much information on my credit report and I have no idea where to begin. What should I dispute?” This is the first thing that comes to mind when someone is reviewing their credit report and they’re trying to fix it on their own. In this article we are going to identify what can be disputed for inaccuracies on your credit report. This will help you to be more effective with removals when communicating with the credit bureaus.

It is the credit bureaus’ obligation to ensure that every single item on their credit report meets the following requirements:

• Within Date
  • Every item that is being reported must be within the allowable time frame. This is 7 years since the last activity for negative accounts and 10 years for judgements and bankruptcies
• Verifiable
  • All companies who report to the bureaus must have legal documents to prove that the debt is valid.
• 100% Accurate
  • All items on the credit report must be completely accurate. It is illegal for any part of the item to be reported as inaccurate.

The crazy part about it all is that the credit bureaus are exclusive from each other. When you compare information from the same account across all three bureaus, you will notice that they tend to be inconsistent with each other. Therefore, it gives a consumer grounds to dispute and provoke an investigation.

Furthermore, the goal is to remain truthful and ethical if you want to see real success with improving your credit report and score.

For more information on the guidelines of how your credit report should be handled visit the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It’s pretty long so I hope you have time.

What Can Be Disputed?

Now we are in the nuts and bolts of disputability and below are the items we would need to look for when looking for ways to dispute:

• Date Open
• High Credit Limit
• High Credit
• Monthly Payment
• Account Number
• Type of Account
• Number of Times Late
• Month and Year Reporting Late
• Account Status
• Account Liability

Once you’ve identified any of the inaccurate items mentioned above, you can write the bureaus a letter about it and have them investigate the matter further. If it comes back as verified, ask them how. If the original companies take too long to respond, petition for removal. If its still displaying correct and you have proof to say otherwise, seek legal counsel.

If you need some help from a professional with identifying items to dispute, contact us and one of our consultants will be sure to reach out to you.

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