Credit Damage
Disputing Negative Reports

It has so penetrated every aspect of our lives that citizens are forced to be on guard and at odds with credit reporting agencies. They collect information about where you live, work, lawsuits against you, bankruptcy, how and when you pay your bills, driver's license number, social security, military record, and it goes on and on.

Victims of fraud are punished because the frauds against them or in their name are etched in stone with credit agencies that force the victims into years of war to undo the damage.

A national study revealed 89 percent of us have incorrect and damaging credit reports that are costing us jobs, higher auto and health insurance rates, and higher interest rates on home loans.

Fraud Victims' Double Victimization

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy and privacy of information in the files of the nation’s consumer reporting companies. But that is about it.

Victims of Identity Theft, Mortgage Fraud, and Foreclosure Scams, keep reporting that they are double victimized by the credit reporting agencies that will not remove the false or misleading information off the victim's report.

In WJFA polls, 83 percent reported that it takes on average three years of legal fights with the credit reporting bureaus to get the information corrected. All reported that the best they can do is put notes in the files stating they damaging information was part of a fraud.

How to Dispute Credit Report Errors

Some financial advisors and consumer advocates suggest that you review your credit report periodically. Why?

• Because the information it contains affects whether you can get a loan—and how much you will have to pay to borrow money.
• To make sure the information is accurate, complete, and up-to-date before you apply for a loan for a major purchase like a house or car, buy insurance, or apply for a job.
• To help guard against identity theft. That’s when someone uses your personal information—like your name, your Social Security number, or your credit card number—to commit fraud.
• Identity thieves may use your information to open a new credit card account in your name. Then, when they don’t pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report. Inaccurate information like that could affect your ability to get credit, insurance, or even a job.
  

Getting Your Credit Report
An amendment to the FCRA requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.

The companies are rolling this out across the country during a nine-month period. By September 2005, consumers from coast to coast will have access to a free annual credit report if they ask for it.
For details, see Your Access to Free Credit Reports at ftc.gov/credit.

How to Order Your Free Report

The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have set up one web site, toll-free telephone number, and mailing address through which you can order your free annual report.

To order, visit www.annualcreditreport.com,

call 877-322-8228,

or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually. They are providing free annual credit reports only through www.annualcreditreport.com, 877-322-8228, and Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies at the same time, or you can order from only one or two.

The law allows you to order one free copy from each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies every 12 months.

To maintain the security of your file, each nationwide consumer reporting company may ask you for some information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment. Each company may ask you for different information because the information each has in your file may come from different sources.

Under federal law, you’re also entitled to a free report if a company takes adverse action against you, such as denying your application for credit, insurance, or employment, based on information in your report.

You must ask for your report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. The notice will give you the name, address, and phone number of the consumer reporting company.

You’re also entitled to one free report a year if you’re unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days; if you’re on welfare; or if your report is inaccurate because of fraud, including identity theft.

Correcting Errors
Under the FCRA, both the consumer reporting company and the information provider (that is, the person, company, or organization that provides information about you to a consumer reporting company) are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. To take advantage of all your rights under this law, contact the consumer reporting company and the information provider.

First
Tell the consumer reporting company, in writing, what information you think is inaccurate. Include copies of documents to support your position.

In addition to providing your complete name and address, your letter should clearly identify each item in your report you dispute, state the facts and explain why you dispute the information, and request that it be removed or corrected.

You may want to enclose a copy of your report with the items in question circled. Your letter may look something like the one on page 4. Send your letter by certified mail, “return receipt requested,” so you can document what the consumer reporting company received. Keep copies of your dispute letter and enclosures.

Consumer reporting companies must investigate the items in question—usually within 30 days—unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They also must forward all the relevant data you provide about the inaccuracy to the organization that provided the information.

After the information provider receives notice of a dispute from the consumer reporting company, it must investigate, review the relevant information, and report the results back to the consumer reporting company. If the information provider finds the disputed information is inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide consumer reporting companies so they can correct the information in your file.

When the investigation is complete, the consumer reporting company must give you the results in writing and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change. This free report does not count as your annual free report. If an item is changed or deleted, the consumer reporting company cannot put the disputed information back in your file unless the information provider verifies that it is accurate and complete. The consumer reporting company also must send you written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the information provider.

If you ask, the consumer reporting company must send notices of any corrections to anyone who received your report in the past six months. You can have a corrected copy of your report sent to anyone who received a copy during the past two years for employment purposes.
If an investigation doesn't resolve your dispute with the consumer reporting company, you can ask that a statement of the dispute be included in your file and in future reports. You also can ask the consumer reporting company to provide your statement to anyone who received a copy of your report in the recent past. You can expect to pay a fee for this service.

Second
Tell the creditor or other information provider, in writing, that you dispute an item. Be sure to include copies of documents to support your position. Many providers specify an address for disputes. If the provider reports the item to a consumer reporting company, it must include a notice of your dispute. And if you are correct—that is, if the information is found to be inaccurate—the information provider may not report it again.

Sample Dispute Letter

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