Credit Dispute And How To File For One
It may be a rare occurrence, but an error appearing on your credit report can happen every once in a while. It may be in the form of a purchase transaction that did not take place or an over-due payment or debt that also should not be there. In this instance you are entitled to file for a credit dispute. Not everyone even knows that this exists, so it is a good idea to be aware of you rights and what you must do to rectify the matter.
Your first move should be to request a full breakdown of your credit report and carefully go through it for any discrepancies. Many individuals can suffer at the hands of identity theft due to being unaware fraudulent activity on their credit report.
Once you are completely satisfied that there has indeed been an erroneous item on the report, you will need to send a letter including the details of your dispute to your creditor. You may also wish to request a explanation at their earliest convenience. For disputing debts that do not belong to you, remember to include details of when your account was first opened. In some cases you may require other forms of proof that the debt is unrelated to you such as a bank statement.
Should you be requesting to settle a credit dispute regarding an old debt of yours, you may wish to include a letter of negotiation. It is best to let your creditors know that you will be in contact and keep them up to date on your plans of action. Your creditors will appreciate that you are trying to clear your debts and should respond positively. Let them know you are eager to get the debt sorted out and are taking full responsibility for your debts.
It is also possible to utilize a credit dispute to change inaccurate details on your report. These types of errors may be due to moving home and the details have not been updated, or other personal details such as your social security number may be incorrect.
When you are going through the process of a credit dispute, always remember to take a copy of any letters you send to your creditors for your own records. Similarly make sure to keep any correspondence from the creditors in a safe place. These documents maybe required further down the line. If you have not heard from them in a while, make sure to call them, don’t let too much time lapse.
