How to Dispute Items On Your Credit Report
Hello and welcome to Houston First Time Home Buyers Edition, formally First Home Houston (FHH). By law, you can have any information in your credit report removed that is wrong or outdated. The keywords however are wrong and outdated. A lot of credit repair companies dispute everything on their customer’s credit report. As a Real Estate Professional, I have seen many credit reports where every single account on the report was in disputed.
This is never good, because, along with the false hope it gives, it also distort the scores. Accounts that are being disputed, are usually excluded when the report is pulled. Because these accounts are excluded, you will not get an accurate credit score reading. For this reason, mortgage loan officers will advice home buyers to remove all disputes from your credit report first, before having their credit pulled. Here is what you need to know about disputing wrong and outdated items on your credit reports:
You can file a dispute by mail or online.
You can dispute credit report information directly with the source that provided the incorrect information or with the credit reporting agency.
Information you will need when submitting a dispute include your social security number, your full name, including any middle name, your date of birth and your current address.
If you request to have legitimate account removed by way of dispute, that process will not be successful in the end.
Disputing student loans will not remove them unless the loans does not belong to you.
If disputing directly with the source, you must mail the required dispute form directly to the creditor’s address.
You must provide copies of supporting documentations.
The agency or creditor has 30 days to complete their investigation.
If the creditor cannot verify the account within 30 days, the information must be removed from the credit report, per the law.
However, if the creditor finds that the account being disputed is correct, the account will remain in the report. If it was removed, the account will be returned to your credit report.
Any correction that has been made to your credit report will result in you receiving an updated report. You may also request the credit reporting agency send corrected copies of your report to all creditors that may have received your report during the past 6 months.
As always, thank you so much for stopping by. Remember, if you are thinking of purchasing your first home, please contact us. We are here to help. We have been helping Houston first time home buyers since 2011 and we can help you. I hope you have an amazing day. Until next time...Diana