Credit Bureau Dispute - How Does It Work?
If you've read anything about credit repair then you're probably familiar
with the idea of a credit bureau dispute. IN a nut shell it's the process you or
your credit repair lawyer goes through to challenge an item that appears on your
credit report, but you don't believe is correct.
I want to give a brief overview of what a credit bureau dispute entails, how
you should go about it, and how long you can expect it to take. If you're
considering hiring a credit repair specialist to handle your case this
information is still go to know, as it will give you a better understanding of
what they're doing for you.
It all starts with your credit report
You've probably already found an error on your credit report that you want to
dispute with the credit bureaus, but just in case I thought I'd mention that the
first step to this process is to get current copies of your credit report.
You're entitled to a free copy of your report from each of the 3 credit
reporting agencies once each year. If you haven't already done this you should
do it ASAP.
Making a Credit Bureau Dispute
Once you've found a credit report error to dispute you want to contact the
credit bureaus as soon as possible. How ever you don't want to do this over the
phone, you want to do it in writing. There are hundreds of form letters
available on the Internet that will give you an idea about how to draft your
credit bureau dispute letter.
You'll want to include supporting information as to why the item you're
disputing is indeed an error, and send all of the information and the letter via
registered mail. Always keep copies of everything you send for your records,
you'll never know when you need it.
If you don't feel comfortable handling this process on your own I suggest
investigating a professional service such as Lexington Law that can make your
credit bureau disputes for you.
How long to resolve a Credit Bureau Dispute?
One the credit reporting companies receive your dispute letter they have a
reasonable amount of time to investigate the claim them selves. While this time
frame isn't written in stone it is normally between 30 and 45 days.
After the complete their investigation into the dispute the credit bureaus
will rule to either delete the item from your credit report or leave it there if
it was found to be correct. The credit bureaus should send you a new copy of
your report showing the outcome of the dispute.
At this point you'll discover if your credit bureau dispute was a success or
not. It takes some patience on your part, and good record keeping as you
could be asked for more information.
Self credit repair can be difficult, but it is less expensive then using a
credit repair lawyer or other professional. If you need to get your credit
repaired in a hurray, or you don't want to manage the case yourself I recommend
you check out Lexington Law, a credit repair law firm that's deleted millions of
items from their clients credit reports.
Related Topics
|
