Many credit reports contain errors. If you find one, take the steps listed below to fix it as soon as possible. If handled properly, the process can be relatively easy. Please note: When trying to resolve an error, it's important to keep a record of everything you do. Send all correspondence return receipt requested, and make copies of any letters or documents you send. Never send original documents.

Step 1: Contact the creditor regarding the problem
In most cases, you should contact the appropriate creditor or lender before contacting a credit reporting agency. Most large creditors have standard procedures for customers to dispute items on their account. If you have proof that the item in question is incorrect, it should be resolved quickly.

Use our public directory search to get the contact information of the creditor.

If the creditor finds that the disputed information is indeed incorrect, the creditor is required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to update its records both internally and with the credit reporting agencies it deals with, usually within 30 days.

Always follow up your phone calls with a letter. In your letter, list each disputed item, and state how it is inaccurate and how it should be fixed, attaching copies of all relevant documents. Include your full name, account number, the dollar amount in question, and the reason you believe the item is wrong. Be concise -- roundabout stories won't help your case.

Here are three examples:

Acme Auto Loans, account number 842974289XXXX. This is not my account. Please remove it from my record.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Austin, TX. Date: 3/5/89. This bankruptcy is more than 10 years old and should be removed from my record.

Bank of Springfield MasterCard, account number 492839203837XXXX. This account is listed as Open. Please see the attached letter indicating that the account was closed on 9/15/98.

Step 2: Contact the credit reporting agency
If you cannot resolve the problem with the lender, contact the credit reporting agency that is reporting the item in question. You will need a printed copy of your report from them, which you may be eligible to receive free of change.

If you are a Credit Report Service member, please remember that the information that appears in Credit Report Service is gathered from Experian. That means, if there is an inaccuracy with the information listed in Credit Report Service, you should contact Experian at the address or phone number listed below to request a credit report directly from them. You can begin to resolve the inaccuracy as soon as you receive it.

After you send written documentation of the inaccuracy, the credit reporting agency will review it. If further investigation is required, they will provide notification of your dispute, including the relevant information you submitted, to the source that furnished the disputed information to them.

The source will then review the information, conduct their own investigation, and report back. The credit reporting agency will then make all appropriate changes to your credit file based on the investigation, and notify you of the update.

Step 3: Contact the other credit reporting agencies
If you find an inaccuracy with one credit bureau, you may want to get your credit report from the other two agencies to see if their reports contain the same error. After you've corrected an error with one agency, the other agencies should eventually receive the corrected information. But for prompt correction, it's best to contact each of the three agencies yourself.

Contact information:

Equifax
800/685-1111
http://www.equifax.com/

Experian (formerly TRW)
888/397-3742
http://www.experian.com/consumer

Trans Union
800/916-8800
http://www.transunion.com/Personal/DisputeCreditReport.asp

Step 4: Ensure that the error is fixed
Within a month of your inquiry, the credit reporting agency should notify you of the results of its investigation and provide you with a new credit report free of charge. Examine it carefully to ensure that the inaccuracies have been fixed or removed. If the error has been fixed, you can have the credit reporting agency send the corrected report to anyone who received the inaccurate report in the past six months (two years in the case of employers).

Step 5: If you cannot resolve a disputed item
You have the right to attach a 100-word statement, free of charge, explaining the nature of your disagreement. Your statement will become part of your credit file, and will be included each time your credit file is accessed.

If you feel that an organization has not responded promptly or fairly to your situation, you can contact the Federal Trade Commission.