Your credit report matters. It can affect your ability to secure loans, obtain favorable interest rates, and sometimes even impact your job prospects. Beyond that, landlords and utility companies may check your credit report when deciding on the terms of a lease or whether to require a deposit. You should not be held responsible for an error on a credit report. At The Kim Law Firm, LLC, we protect consumers. In this article, our credit reporting errors attorney highlights four steps to take to fix the problem and to get justice.
Step #1: Obtain a Copy of Your Credit Reports
As a starting point, you need to know what exactly your credit report(s) say. You should request free copies of your credit reports from the three major credit reporting agencies. The agencies are:
- Equifax;
- Experian; and
- TransUnion.
Every U.S. consumer is entitled to a free credit report from each agency once per year through the official website. AnnualCreditReport.com. You should review each report carefully for inaccuracies.
Note: Other services promising free credit reports are not official. Use AnnualCreditReport.com.
Step #2: Dispute Inaccurate Information With the Credit Reporting Agency
If you find any error on any specific credit report, you have the right to dispute it. You can dispute the error online or over the phone. It is important to dispute the error with each credit reporting agency that is reporting the inaccurate information separately. Each agency operates independently and does not always share dispute information with one another.
Step #3: Gather and Submit Supporting Documentation
You should gather and prepare all documentation that you have that is related to the error(s). Some of the most common examples of relevant information. Include bank statements, letters, or emails verifying account status and other legal documents. You should send copies—not the originals—to each of the credit agencies. Further, you should generally send a detailed letter that includes your name, address, the items being disputed, and a request for correction.
Step #4: Take Legal Action Against the Responsible Party
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that regulates how consumer reporting agencies use your information. It ensures the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of the information in consumer reports. Beyond that, the FCRA provides remedies to consumers who have been harmed by an error on a credit report. You can seek financial compensation from the at-fault party if you sustained actual damages from the result of a credit report error. Some examples include:
- Denial of credit;
- A higher interest rate on a mortgage loan;
- The loss of an employment opportunity;
- Denial of an apartment; and
- Major emotional distress.
We Help People Challenge Credit Reporting Errors
At The Kim Law Firm, LLC, our consumer protection attorney has the knowledge, skills, and experience you can rely on. If you have any questions or concerns about credit reporting errors, we are here to help. Contact us today for a free, fully confidential consultation. We are committed to fighting for justice for people and families.
Errors on your credit report?
The Kim Law Firm helps consumers with credit report errors under the FCRA and FDCPA. Get a free case review or call 855-996-6342 — you pay nothing unless we win.
Send the dispute to the furnisher as well
Disputing with the bureaus is the step everyone knows about, and it is necessary, but it is only half the process. When a bureau receives a dispute it forwards a coded summary to the company that furnished the entry, and that summary rarely conveys the documentation you attached. Sending the same dispute directly to the furnisher puts your evidence in front of the party that actually holds the account records, and it creates a second, independently enforceable duty to investigate.
- Capital One — a furnisher reporting on a very large card portfolio.
- Discover — issues and services its accounts under one name.
- American Express — where account structure affects how entries appear.
- Bank of America — furnishes data across several consumer product lines.
- U.S. Bank — reports cards and loans originated through multiple channels.
- OneMain Financial — an installment lender operating under legacy names.
Write to both the bureaus and the furnisher on the same day, keep proof of delivery for each, and state the specific field you say is wrong rather than describing the account generally. Attach statements, canceled payments or correspondence that contradict the entry, because those documents are what make a canned verification response indefensible later. If the entry survives the reinvestigation unchanged and the documentation clearly refutes it, that outcome is itself evidence that the investigation was not reasonable.
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