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How to Dispute Credit Report Inaccuracies and Improve Your Credit Score

At O1ne Mortgage, we understand the importance of maintaining a healthy credit score. Whether you’re looking to buy a new home or refinance your current mortgage, your credit score plays a crucial role in securing the best rates. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the process of disputing inaccuracies on your credit report and provide actionable tips to improve your credit score. For personalized mortgage services, call us at 213-732-3074.

How Does a Credit Report Dispute Work?

Filing a dispute with one of the three national credit bureaus—Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax—triggers an investigation process governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This federal law guarantees your right to dispute information on your credit reports without incurring any cost.

Upon receiving your dispute, the credit bureau verifies your claim with the source, or “furnisher,” of the disputed information. Furnishers may include banks, credit card companies, and your landlord. If the furnisher finds an inaccuracy, it must update its records, inform the credit bureau, and notify the other two national credit bureaus to correct the issue.

How Long Will the Dispute Process Take?

The FCRA requires the national credit bureaus to complete dispute investigations within 30 to 45 days. If you submit additional information during the standard 30-day investigation window, the credit bureau may take an additional 15 days to complete its investigation. Once a bureau has concluded a dispute investigation, it must notify you of the outcome and any action taken within five business days.

How Long Does Negative Information Remain on My Credit Reports?

With the exception of Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which takes 10 years to expire from your credit reports, negative credit report entries stay on your credit reports for seven years. These include late payments, accounts in default, accounts turned over to collections, foreclosures, and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Negative entries hurt credit scores, especially when recent, but they affect scores as long as they appear on your report.

Should I Hire a Credit Repair Company to Speed Up the Process?

Credit repair companies cannot do anything for you that you can’t do for yourself with just a little effort. All three national credit bureaus offer the opportunity to submit disputes online. If you prefer snail mail, a dispute letter template can simplify the process. Experian provides a downloadable form, and the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also offer sample dispute letters.

Additional Actions That Can Improve Your Credit Score

If you don’t have any inaccurate information on your credit report or you’re looking to improve your credit score, there are some other steps you can take to help build a better credit score:

Pay Every Bill on Time

Your payment history is the most important influence on your credit scores. To build a strong payment history, make sure you don’t miss loan or credit card payments by more than 29 days—payments that are at least 30 days late can be reported to the credit bureaus and hurt your credit scores.

Catch Up on Overdue Bills

If you fall behind on loan or credit card accounts, getting caught up on what you owe can limit the damage. Keeping up with bills that aren’t debt-related can be important too. Utility payments and phone bills aren’t typically reported to credit bureaus unless you choose to have Experian Boost® add them to your Experian credit report. Left unpaid, those bills may be turned over to a collection department or agency, leading to negative entries on your credit reports.

Pay Down Revolving Balances

High balances on revolving credit accounts—credit cards and lines of credit—can lead to a high credit utilization rate. High utilization can hurt your credit scores, and individuals with the highest credit scores tend to keep utilization ratios in the low single digits.

Apply for New Credit Sparingly

It’s generally wise to limit how often you apply for new credit applications. Each application generates a hard inquiry on your credit report, which can have a small, temporary negative effect on your credit scores. Multiple inquiries in a short time can lower your scores significantly. However, rate shopping for auto loans and mortgages is an exception, as credit scoring models may ignore multiple inquiries if they occur within a couple of weeks and are for the same type of loan.

The Bottom Line

It’s important to review your credit reports regularly, and you have the right to dispute any inaccuracies you discover. The process is straightforward and relatively quick, and by law, verified corrections will be made within a few weeks. Checking your FICO® Score from Experian can help you see the impact credit report disputes and other decisions you make have on the way lenders view your creditworthiness.

For expert mortgage services and personalized advice, contact O1ne Mortgage at 213-732-3074. We’re here to help you navigate the complexities of credit and secure the best mortgage rates available.

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