After pulling your credit report for the first time, the negative items can can immediately trigger feelings of anger and guilt. They are generally the first items to tackle when approaching credit repair. Disputing negative items off your report has four major approaches, which are discussed below.
Disputing Negative Items is more art than science.
There are many legal and fundamentals involved with disputing, but while the methods are tried and true, not all will be achieved in the same manner. Older collection accounts may dispute easier if they are incorrect due to lack of paperwork. Credit card late payments are nearly impossible to simply dispute off a credit file.
Important note. Credit Repair HQ strongly suggests not disputing accurate information. There are several ways in which this can come back to bite you in a long run and it is often not worth the risk. This is especially true around mortgages.
The Methods and Overall Order of Disputes:
1. Direct Disputes
A direct dispute is done by disputing directly with the creditor. This is generally done by mail and often does not including the three major credit reporting agencies. While this isn’t always the easiest or fastest, it should be your first dispute.
2. Credit Reporting Agency Dispute
A debtor has the option of filing a dispute with any or all of the reporting agencies, which are then required to investigate or reinvestigate the allegations within 30 days, if they meet certain requirements.
When you do these electronically, they will be handled with no human intervention. That is not to your benefit. To give yourself the best chance, hand write your dispute include supporting documentation and mail it USPS by certified mail.
3. MOV (Method of Verification) Request
If the reporting agency dispute comes back denied, as most will, you have the right to submit a Method of Verification request. This a request for the credit reporting agency to provide you the method in which they verified the debt in question.
D. CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
If you are unable to get results elsewhere, you should file a complaint with the CFPB. There are times where you could potentially skip the line and go straight to the CFPB, but they often will deny cases if they have not been addressed in some fashion with earlier disputes.
Lawsuits, BBB, FTC and other disputes.
There are additional steps you can attempt to remedy a wrong. If you have legal standing and can prove it, a lawsuit might be your best action. Be creative! The Better Business Bureau and local state FTC offices are other options as well.
This article was last updated on February 3, 2023