Author: Justin Hutto
A dispute letter is how you can challenge the accuracy or validity of a bad credit item on your report. In your letter you must include the reason for the dispute and what item is being disputed.
Common reasons for a dispute are; account is not mine, account paid in full, item is out of date and more. When the credit bureaus receive your dispute and deem it valid they will investigate the dispute.
During this investigation the collection agency or lender is contacted and the account is verified and the dates and amounts. If the account can not be verified then it will be removed from your credit report.
Typically investigations will result in the removal of a bad credit item. This happens because many businesses are just unwilling to spend the resources to verify disputed accounts.
Allegedly bureaus do not check public records during investigations. This means that negative marks that are recorded in public records are often removed.
A credit repair service can also be hired to dispute bad credit marks on your behalf. This can be a tremendous benefit if you are disputing multiple marks.
It is common for a dispute letter to result in the bureaus sending you a letter requesting more information about the dispute. In addition each credit bureau needs to be disputed separately.
This means organizing your disputes can become a challenge on its own. Many services can also use advanced dispute techniques in case a bad credit item is verified. These techniques include; creditor direct intervention, escalated dispute information requests, and debt validation.
Many services will employ attorneys this will enable you to go to court if it is necessary. In addition you may be a victim of illegal debt collection practices and may be able to file a lawsuit against a collection agency.
Credit repair is not only your right it is your responsibility. There are estimates that 1 in every 4 people have inaccurate information on their credit report.
In sum, dispute any inaccurate or unverifiable bad credit marks on your report. You do not have to wait 7 years for a mark to be removed from your credit.
For a free sample dispute letter to remove bad credit items on your report or to learn how you can remove negative marks such as a charge off visit us.