Correcting errors in your credit file

When a credit-reporting agency receives a dispute, it must reinvestigate and record the current status of the disputed items within a reasonable period of time, unless it believes the dispute is “frivolous or irrelevant.”

If the agency cannot verify a disputed item, it must delete it. If your credit report contains erroneous information, the agency must correct it. If an item is incomplete, the agency must complete it. For example, if your file showed late payments, but failed to show you no longer are delinquent, the agency must show that your payments are now current. Or if your file listed an account that is not yours, the agency would have to delete it.

Also, at your request, the credit-reporting agency must send a notice of correction to anyone who has checked your file in the past six months.

If a reinvestigation does not resolve your dispute, the Fair Credit Reporting Act permits you to file a statement of up to 100 words to explain your side of the story. That explanation must be included in every report the agency sends.

To dispute information in your credit report, directly notify the credit-reporting agency. Submit your dispute in writing, along with copies (not originals) of documents supporting your position.

Besides providing your complete name and address, your letter should clearly identify each disputed item, explain why you dispute the item, and request deletion or correction. You may want to enclose a copy of your report with the questionable items circled.

Send your dispute by certified mail — return receipt requested. Keep copies of your dispute letter and enclosures to document what the agency received.

After these steps, if you continue to have problems with inaccurate information on your credit report, you can file a consumer complaint with the Attorney General's Office online or by calling the Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-392-8222.

While most national department store and all-purpose bank credit card accounts will be included in your file, not all creditors supply information to agencies. These may include travel, entertainment and gasoline card companies, local retailers, and credit unions.

If you were denied credit because of an “insufficient credit file” or “no credit file” and you have accounts not listed in your file, you can ask the credit-reporting agency to add this information to future reports. Although they are not required to do so, many agencies will add other verifiable accounts for a fee.

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