It has been estimated that forty million Americans have an incorrect entry on their credit reports, so if you are reading this then you might be one of them.
But how do you fix it? Well, you do not necessarily need to hire a professional in order to get it done. You can start off trying to fix it yourself.
Get Organized
Start a folder. Put copies of your letters, certified letter receipts, credit reports, proof of payments, etc. together. In the case that your letter does not get the disputed items off of your report you want to make sure that you have all of your evidence together that shows that you do not owe the debt and that you have requested that the debt be taken off your credit report.
We will see why later.
Write a Letter
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), in short, says that you can request that the credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) conduct a reasonable investigation of credit items that you are disputing. Once you request this, they have thirty (30) days to review your request.
I have attached a letter as a matter of reference. What you will want to do is explain why the item you are disputing is in incorrect and attach as many supporting documents to it as possible.
They will conduct a review and send you an updated credit report after thirty (30) days or so.
Sue the Bureaus
It is possible that the letter will not work for one reason or the next. The next step is to consult with an attorney.
You can hire a lawyer to sue the credit bureaus. The good news is that the attorney fees are covered under the FCRA, you may also be entitled to money damages for the harm caused to you.
What you are suing the bureaus for is simple. You are saying that they did not properly undertake their statutory responsibility to reasonably review your dispute and rectify the dispute. So, if your letter contained proof of payment with it, and the credit bureaus continued to report inaccurate information it is likely that you can prove that the bureaus did not conduct a reasonable review of your dispute.
