Credit report dispute guides

These guides run in the order most people need them: get your reports, read them, find the errors, file the dispute, and know what to do if the answer is no. Each guide ends with the sources it relies on. Pick the topic that matches where you are.

Five topics

• Credit report basics: get your free reports, read them, and see why the three do not match.
• Finding errors: tell an inaccurate item from an accurate one, and spot duplicates and mixed files.
• The dispute process: file with each bureau, online or by mail, and track the deadlines.
• Negative items and timelines: how long items stay, and what the law says about collections, late payments, inquiries, identity theft, and medical debt.
• Escalation, rights, and myths: what to do when a dispute is rejected, and why 609 letters do not work the way you have read.

If you are not sure where to start

If you have not looked at your reports yet, start with how to get your free credit reports. If you already see something wrong, go straight to how to dispute a credit report error. If a dispute already came back “verified,” read what to do next.

The free Error Detection Kit pulls the checklist and a starter letter into one PDF.

Sources

• CFPB: credit reports and scores
• FTC: disputing errors on your credit reports

Next steps

• How to dispute a credit report error: the complete process

  The full process for disputing a credit report error yourself: get reports, mark errors, gather proof, file with each bureau, track 30 days, read the result.

• The most common credit report errors, and how to spot them

  Seven places credit report errors hide: personal information, account ownership, duplicates, payment history, balances, collections, and inquiries.

• Find the errors on your credit report in 30 minutes

  A free PDF to find credit report errors in 30 minutes: error checklist, starter dispute letter, bureau reference card, and dispute timeline. No card numbers.