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Disputing discrepancies in credit reports

On Behalf of | Sep 9, 2022 | Fair Credit Reporting Act Issues

A credit report contains information about an individual’s debts and financial accounts in Illinois. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) provides information on who has access to a credit report, the types of errors to look for and how to report inaccuracies.

Protecting credit information

Most people have credit and can access their credit reports online. Their reports are unavailable to anyone, so they must provide personal details about themselves that few other people know. In addition, many reports contain outdated or inaccurate information that is often never found or corrected. Someone who owns credit may be denied a loan and not fully understand the reason for an error on the report.

Disputing inaccuracies

The Fair Credit Reporting Act ensures the accuracy of information that is found in consumer reports. The law states that inaccurate information must be verified before it is removed or modified within a 30-day deadline. The error must be inaccurate, such as an incorrect loan amount, but it cannot be removed for being negative.

An error on a credit report is disputed by contacting one of the three credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax or Transunion. The error has to be described in writing and includes details about the error and why it is wrong. In addition, the company requires the attachment of documents to support the report’s inaccuracy.

Errors that appear on credit reports are expected. Many people do not identity, report and correct the incorrect information when it occurs. As a result, their credit scores increase while negative, inaccurate items remain on the report. The CFPB provides guidelines on how to complete the process of disputing inaccuracies in a credit report.