Imagine this…
You apply for a home loan, and given you’ve got great credit, you’re thinking you’ll get approved. But to your surprise, the mortgage company declines your loan, because there is a dispute comment (aka dispute remark or statement) showing on the credit report. Now they tell you that you must remove the dispute statement before they can approve you. And you don’t know where to start…
Today I’m going to give you the template to get a remark removed from account.
However, DO NOT remove a dispute comment from negative items unless a lender specifically asks you to do so.
And this is why – This dispute comment takes the account out of being factored into the credit score, so if an account with a negative history gets its dispute remark removed, then the credit score may go down.
On the other hand, credit scores may go up if the dispute comment is removed from a positive account.
This article contains the backchannel contact information for the credit bureaus, a sample dispute letter along with instructions needed on how to get the dispute comment removed quickly from your report.
But first, there are a few things you need to know about dispute comments:
What are Dispute Comments and Why do they show up on Credit Reports?
As per the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), anytime you question the validity of an account that shows on your credit report, either with the creditor (debt collector) or with the credit bureaus, the account will be investigated. While this investigation takes place, which normally takes 30 days, the account being investigated gets marked as “disputed.”
What’s important is that Fair Isaac Corporation – Fico credit scoring systems do not factor in accounts that are “in dispute,” though the account may show up on your credit report, it will not contribute to your score. FICO scores are calculated based on five categories: payment history (i.e. late or missed payments), amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit and credit mix.
Now here is where this gets complicated, After 30 days the following scenarios may play out:
Scenario 1:
The result of the investigation leads to the account being deleted, then you have nothing to worry about. No account on your credit report and no dispute comment.
Scenario 2:
If the result of the investigation does not lead to the account being deleted, then under the comment/remarks section for the particular account, the creditor may ask the credit bureaus to put a remark stating “consumer disputes account.”
As a result of this remark, the account stops factoring into the credit score and artificially increasing the credit score.
So if you were to apply for a mortgage loan, the lender will want this comment removed in order to get an accurate credit score.
Two different types of dispute comments
While either of these comments is present on an account on the credit report, the particular account will not factor into the credit score. So Lenders normally want these two types of dispute comments removed, especially from negative accounts.
If the account reflects the first variation of “account disputed,’ then the dispute comment may stay on the credit report indefinitely.
However, if a re-investigation is in the process, it indicates the credit bureaus are conducting an investigation and within 30 days, they will either update or remove the credit account.
In addition, the bureaus may change the comment to simply “account disputed,” which will keep the account from being factored into the score. They can also update the comment to show the ‘dispute resolved’, as explained next.
Variation 2. “Account was in dispute-now resolved”
The account will reflect this comment, following the completion of a dispute investigation by the credit reporting agencies. However, with this comment, the account will be factored into the credit score. For this reason, banks and prospective lenders will not take notice of this particular type of dispute comment.
When Removing a Dispute Comment Will Increase your Credit Score
If you have an account that is in dispute (showing a variation 1 dispute comment), but, with a positive credit history, free of any late payments or charge-off or collection status on your credit report then you’re in luck! (If you have negative collection accounts, check if you can get it deleted in exchange for payment)
Removing the dispute comment may result in a score increase.
When Removing a Dispute Comment Will Decrease your Credit Score
If, on the other hand, you’re removing a dispute comment from a negative account, then removing the dispute remark may result in a credit score decrease. But you may need to do this as a pre-condition to get approved.
How long does it take to remove a dispute comment?
Now, this can vary. If you get a hold of someone with the credit agencies by phone, then it could be as quick as 4 business days. Otherwise, if you write or fax your request to the relevant credit bureaus, it may take up to 30 days.
Calling the Credit Bureaus for Instant Dispute Comment Deletions
I always recommend my clients call the bureaus first to remove dispute comments from your credit file. But understand that you may spend some time on hold, but it often fixes the problem. Below are numbers and prompts I’ve used to get live a live person with each of the credit bureaus.
EXPERIAN CONTACT
Call 855-414-6148 (select options 2, 1, 2, 1 after you’re prompted for your SSN# and DoB, etc)
This will get you to a live agent. If this doesn’t work then pull your free Experian report from annualcreditreport.com or sign up for a freecreditreport.com account.
This will give you special phone #s that change seasonally and a report id# to get through to customer service quicker.
Tell them that you are purchasing a home and you would like for a dispute remark to be removed from a specific account on your credit report and that you are no longer disputing those accounts.
Next, ask them how long it takes for this to be done. If you’re told it will take more than a couple of days, you must then tell them that you are needing to move forward with the closing on your home and ask if it can be expedited sooner.
Repeat the process for the other two credit bureaus below.
EQUIFAX CONTACT
Phone # 800-846-5279 (picked up by a live agent, but hold times are long)
Tell them that you would like for the dispute to be removed from some accounts on your Equifax credit report due to a home purchase and pending mortgage approval. Ask for a manager directly.
TRANSUNION CONTACT
Phone number: 800-916-8800. Extension 4 then extension 2.
Ask for their special handling unit and tell them you’ve got a loan pending and must get a dispute remark removed from your accounts on TransUnion credit report ASAP.
If a Phone Number doesn’t work:
In the event that you’re not able to get through with the numbers above, try to pull a credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com or the particular credit bureaus website.
What’s good about this is that this report will give you a phone number as well as your personal credit report ID#. This may help in getting your call through quicker, especially when dealing with Experian.
Writing to the credit bureaus to remove dispute remarks
If calling the credit bureaus doesn’t work, then you may also write to them. But know that this takes a few weeks to correct the report. Below is a sample credit dispute letter to remove dispute remarks, use it and modify to fit your own words.
Credit Bureau Letter for Removing Dispute Comments
Send out the letter to each of the three credit bureaus via certified mail or fax.
Enclose a copy of each of the following:
1. SSN card (or anything showing your full SSN#)
2. Recent utility bill (or page from a bank statement)
3. State-issued identification.
————————————————————————————————–
Date:
Full Name:
Mailing Address:
Date of Birth, SSN#
{If Sending to Experian: P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013} OR BY FAX : 1-972-390-4908
{If Sending to Equifax: P.O. Box 740256, Atlanta, GA 30374-0256} OR BY FAX : 1-888-826-0549
{If Sending to Transunion: P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016} – Transunion no longer accepts fax
{Date}
RE: REQUEST TO UPDATE CREDIT REPORT, PLEASE RUSH LOAN PENDING
To whom it may concern,
In accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act Section 611 (15 U.S.C. § 1681I), I am practicing my right to “UPDATE” information that does not reflect the current status of certain accounts. More specifically pertaining to comments on accounts. I am requesting that you remove the “disputed comments” on each of the accounts below with immediate effect. The accounts have either never been disputed, to begin with, or are no longer in dispute.
I am asking the dispute comment to be removed from the following items:
{Creditor Name} {ac# }
{Creditor Name} {ac# }
{Creditor Name} {ac# }
{Creditor Name} {ac# }
Once again this is not a request to investigate, but to update, so I expect you to update my file as soon as possible and not the regular 30 day period you’re allowed for disputes
Truly,
{Name}
{Signature}
————————————————————————————————–
If the credit bureaus do not remove the dispute comment
So you’ve written to the bureaus and called them and they denied the removal of late payments off the credit report?
Here’s what’s worked for my clients; Call the creditor and specifically ask for their ‘credit bureau department.’ If they don’t have one then ask for a manager. Let them know you are no longer disputing the item and you want them to make a notation of that and they should remove the dispute comment from the credit bureaus.
Something to consider here, if the account is an unpaid negative account like a collection or charge-off, then you want to weigh your options about calling the creditor or collection agency. Because calling the creditors may encourage them to re-start collection activity now that you’ve propped your head up on their radar.
What you need to know is legally creditors have a certain amount of time to collect, also known as the “statute of limitations,’
Therefore, unless you’re in a position to pay off the debt, then before calling a creditor make sure to check the statute of limitation for debts in your state and confirm it has expired. If you don’t want to deal with the headache of going DIY, contact our credit repair specialists to guide you in this process.
79 Comments. Leave new
My husband is trying to get a dispute taken off his credit report that he didn’t dispute in the first place. We have called and they said they can take off the comments but can’t do anything with the actual dispute until the investigation is over. Is this correct? Also how does something get disputed if he wasn’t the one that disputed it?!
Hi Alexis, find out who and how it was disputed, generally the credit bureau disputes would be over in about 30 days
What happens when an account is closed with a 0 balance and has a note of (account information disputed by the consumer, meets FCRA requirements) does this affect my credit, or is it good? thank you
Hi Alicia, generally then the account does factor back into the score, so that’s more of a neutral comment. Nothing to worry about.
Hi Ali, Sorry, I need to be sure, if this “disputed the account, the lender investigated and completed the investigation and it is no longer in dispute” is good or bad for my credit, because I have the same comment in my Credit Report. thanks
Hi Alicia, that’s a neutral thing really , will have no impact on score
Hi. I have been trying endlessly to get dispute remarks off of my credit file after I used a credit repair service. My mortgage lender wanted them removed for the original approval. I called all 3 credit bureaus, and in 72 hours they were removed. Problem is, asking credit bureaus to removed dispute comments OPENS another dispute and after 30 days the comments are back on there something like “consumer disputes after resolution”. When I say I have tried endlessly to get dispute remarks off my report I mean it!! I promise you I have called 100 times! All 3 bureaus! EVERY SINGLE TIME, remarks are removed and then added back on after so long. I have used different language and terminology to get them removed. NOTHING WORKS!! I contacted my creditor they say the dispute as been resolved and since they don’t have an active dispute they don’t have access to remove the dispute remarks, stating I should call the bureaus that they are the ones adding the comments…. when I call the bureaus they tell me my creditor is adding the comments. So on and so fourth! It’s an endless charade of nonsense and I don’t know what to do. Eventhough its a brand new account with only 1 month of payment history! What do I do!?? I’m desperate!
Hi Ms Gonzales, saddened to hear about this issue. In addition to reaching out the credit bureaus, I always recommend reaching out to the creditor as well to make sure they’re not the one’s instructing the bureaus to report the dispute remark.
please shoot me an email me and preferably include a credit report and I can advise from them, my email is [email protected]
Credit report shows: account previously in dispute but – now resolved by data furnished mean? A dental office sent subscribed to collections on an adult child bill that adult child was disputing with office because they made a billing error. Now subscriber can’t get loan bc of credit score. There was screw up after screw up with this defray office but they will not admit error. Subscriber wants to sue but that’s another matter.
Hi Jan, this means you disputed the account, the lender investigated and completed the investigation and it is no longer in dispute
Hello Ali, I’m unable to get a mortgage . here’s what happened, I had hired a credit repair company to fix my credit and get removed a First Premier Charge-off and Capital Bank Open Sky collection , they disputed accounts and then
my mortgage lender told me to get dispute comments off those accounts,
When I got the dispute comments off my score went down. Why did this happen ?
Hi Denise, sorry to hear about this. So when an item is in dispute, it becomes invisible to the credit score calculator, and when it comes out of dispute it starts factoring back in to the score.
So probably what happened was that when the item was disputed the score went up artificially and when the dispute comment was removed it went down.
To get the score back up the First Premier and the Capital Bank Open Sky charge-offs will beed to be removed.
Simply paying them will not remove them as they’ll still show as paid charge-offs.
We should be able to help remove this, you can reach me using link below to setup a consult: https://www.imaxcredit.com/consultation/
I was trying to purchase a home when I ran into a problem.
There is a dispute on my credit report I did not make on a Sync/ppc account.
I’ve called synchrony bank and pay pal credit. Neither can help me without an account number.
How should I proceed?
Thankyou!!!
Hi Susan, just beware , if the Synchrony/Paypal account is a negative account then removing the dispute comment will decrease the score. And even though the mortgage company will not see the dispute comment, then you’ll have to content with getting approved at a lower score.
So if its negatively reporting account, you’re better off trying to remove the entire account.
Can removing my disputes with the credit agencies re-age my collections?
HI Kelly, no they won’t re-age, but they’ll definitely drop your credit score. If an item is in dispute, it stops factoring into the credit score, this is the reason when you go apply for a loan, the bank may turn you down if it sees a dispute comment, since that dispute comment indicates that your score has been artificially inflated
Ali, I have the following remark in my PayPal Synchrony credit account “Account information disputed by consumer, meets FCRA requirements”.
Account status: Open
Type: Credit Card
Creditor: Synch Paypal
Remarks : Account information disputed by consumer, meets FCRA requirements
Times 30/60/90 days late: 1/1/3
Closed:Charge-off
This was a PayPal Bill Me Later account which I thought was closed and paid, but somehow it was sold to Synchrony Bank, and now its a charge-off on my credit.
Hi Dayna, this is a big problem with PayPal.
See below:
https://fortune.com/2020/03/13/paypal-credit-score-drop-synchrony-bank-synchb-ppc/
They’ve done this to a lot of people.
I do get frequent deletions from them.
Reach out to me at [email protected] to discuss options available.
I disputed my late payment with Capital One Bank and a Verizon Wireless charge-off , and they verified the account and marked the account as disputed. Now I’m not able to get approved for a mortgage , what options do I have ?
Hi Tron, sorry to hear this is holding you up.
I have options available to remove both accounts, not just the dispute comments.
I deal with Verizon and Capital One’s credit bureau dept on a weekly basis
Shoot me an email at [email protected] to chat
Hi Ali, we’re 20 pts shy of a mortgage approval, and these nagging collection accounts with Portfolio Recovery and Midland Credit both of dispute comments we want removed.
I’ve tried the dispute letters before but they don’t work , please help
Hey Sierra, so keep in mind that removing the dispute comments will decrease the score. This is because when the dispute comment is on the account, the account is not factoring in to the credit score. So this is why lenders don’t want to see dispute comments.
Now with Midland Credit Management and Portfolio Collections, they’re debt buyers, and we should be able to get the entire tradelines removed, since they’re not likely to have the original debt instruments.
Shoot me an email at [email protected]
I had credit repair applied to my account for one of the transaction. The issue was resolved. Will the bank or creditor remove the remark automatically as the dispute was solved or should we contact the equifax to remove the remark added to my account?
Hi Vara, the inquiry you’ll need to dispute separately
Hello I have a charge off (car loan) from Portland Oregon and I live in Florida what statue limitations should I go by were I live or by Portland Oregon. Also my last payment was August 2013 so when would it be removed from my credit . Thank you
Hi Vanessa, the statute will be for the state you live in.
The fall off date should be before aug of this year.
Run a Transunion and Experian report at annualcreditreport.com , this should give you the fall off date.
I had credit scores of 350 (Transunion) 440 (Equifax) in January. I applied for a surgery loan in February and was not approved because of my low FICO scores. The debts incurred are from over 4 years ago and I live in California, what can I do ?
HI Steve, the debts are now past the statute of limitations for being collectible, you can review the report and dispute any inaccuracies you find regarding regulatory of late payments , amounts and dates of collection etc, using this dispute letter:
https://www.imaxcredit.com/credit-dispute-letters-credit-bureau/
Best
Ali
So my wife has done everything possible to have the disputes removed. Writing, calling, and paying them off. And they take it off for a days. Then it goes right back on and shes been doing/dealing with this since march. We dont know what to do at this point.
Justin, who is the creditor and what is the circumstance that led to the late?
Have you tried lodging a complaint against them at http://www.consumerfinance.gov
Hello, where can I get a free consultation for removing dispute comments, I can’t get a mortgage due to this
Hi Joe, fwd me a copy of a credit report at [email protected]
I had paid non-stop and on time, but a recent charge-off derailed my credit, will the instructions here work for that ?
Hi Barbara, please refer to this blog post for that https://imaxcredit.com/the-most-effective-credit-bureau-dispute-letter/
This is a terrific resource, thanks so much for sharing
Appreciate the kind words Marisa
Can auto loan dispute comments be removed?
absolutely Amy, use the letter and let me know how it goes
how long will this take to remove an inquiry?
about 30 days Bracken,
I am 37 and have amassed $45,000 in credit card debt (over three cards). I have student loans, a mortgage loan, and an equity line of credit. I have never been late with any payments. However, I got a bit stressed with the high credit card debt. I almost filed for chapter 7 on the credit card debt only while keeping my mortgage, equity line of credit, and student loan payments current.
What can I do to bring down the debt ?
Hi Rekelia, yes things can get tough , but you’ll need to look into debt management programs or credit counseling for this perhaps.
Hope this info helps
I will be in the market to buy a car and have a collection I want to settle and delete , will this letter help ?
Jerry, please refer to my blog post called ” how to settle collections in exchange for payments” there’s a sample letter your can use
Hello – I am closing on a mortgage, but cannot close because there is still one file in dispute process on Equifax, due to be completed by 10/8. We were initially supposed to close on September 28th, but cannot due to the dispute, which is the only thing holding us back. We live in the home we are purchasing, (we were leasing) but will have to move if we can’t get this stopped. They granted an extension on closing 10/8. Do you have any information on Equifax and whether or not we can remove disputes? one person said yes, and then others say no. I can’t get any clarity. Any advice you can provide is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Ok, I’d reccomend pulling a report directly from Equifax.com, it will come with a confirmation # and special phone # you can call for them to access your file. Tell them you have a mortgage pending and tell them you disputed the account in error and for them to cancel the dispute.
Hello Ali! For the last nearly 3 weeks, i’ve called all three credit bureaus regarding a few “disputed accounts”
I have listed them to each agent with each of the bureaus, they agree to remove these comments and say the information will be updated on my account within 72 hours. I’ve found that each time I call for a status update, the prices has to be repeated and I’m going nowhere fast.
Am I doing something wrong?
My credit is fair. So I know my mortgage loan approval is not based on that, it’s solely based off the fact that my credit repair service inadvertently disputed these creditors whom I was amicably working with. Any advice?
Hi Sharon, the bureaus are so notorious for doing this.
I would say you file a complaint against each of the bureaus at consumerfinance.gov
they’ll take a month or so to respond and act.
Make sure in the complanit list each account number and creditor name and state you want to get the dispute comment removed.
Also it would be worth it to reach out to the creditors and see if they will at their end instruct the bureaus to remove the dispute comments. And if you don’t get any where with the creditors you can lodge a complaint against the creditors as well
Hope this info helps
I have 40 odd inquiries, what will removing the inquiries do to my credit report, in terms of getting approved for a loan ?
Hi John, the removal of the inquiries may help with loan approvals, only if you are already at a high credit score.
Keep in mind inquiries don’t affect the score a great deal, however, lenders look at recent inquiries unfavorably.
Hope this answers your question.
Hi Ali, am I better off faxing or mailing this letter?
Hi Bobby, fax it if you’re able, if you can fax you may get a quicker response, as mail sorting time takes longer with the bureaus.
Would you suggest disputing inquiries online?
Certified return receipt Mail is always preferred. Also some bureaus won’t let you dispute online
Thanks so much for sharing this info on removing inquiries, I’m going to take a crack at it !!!
Terrfic Gregory, wishing you the best
Hello I’ll had try to calling Experian for a dispute comment removed, but call don’t go through is there another phone number or what should I do because im in process of closing for a house.
HI Jesus, try getting a report from http://www.annualcreditreport.com for Experian and that should have a dedicated phone # for your report and a report # you can references. If that doesn’t allow you a report, sign up for an account at experian.com and that should give you special access to Experian customer service dept
Can this letter be used to remove accounts related to identity theft?
Hi John, yes, but Identity theft and fraud related accounts will also need a Police report and an Identity theft affidavit to accompany the report and some other things to be done.
Reach out to me and I’ll fill you in on this
Hi, My credit score was around 545. I had a judgement from 2014 and charge offs so my credit dropped over the years. I could not get a better job and was rejected for mortgage loan 4 times. However, I spoke with a mortgage specialist about purchasing and her advice was to get my credit score up to 750 at least, because according to her everything i needed to qualify for a USDA loan was to get my credit score up. Now we have a home in Gaston County NC and I am with stable income!!! The decline in credit was due to pregnancy related complications leading to job loss in February 2011. I fixed my credit score with the help of [email protected] com just in 2 days i’m at 791 now all thank to him. You all can reach him via his mail and free yourself from rent bills and unnecessary debts.
Can I use these tactics to get the actual negative accounts removed from the credit report?
Hi Andrew, for that please reference this article here: https://www.imaxcredit.com/credit-dispute-letters-credit-bureau/
Hello guys, while I was at Home Depot recently, I was offered a $7,500 credit card and was accepted. All thanks to Ali because they helped in repairing my credit within few days. Thank me later
The above mentioned dispute removal comments can be quite handy for me thanks for the ideas.
You’re most welcome Kristin
Just wanted to thank you for putting this information out here, I’ve researched the internet for credit repair help and this blog by far has the most advanced techniques for credit repair.
Thanks Lutragen for the very kind words of encouragement.
Thanks for sharing this Ali, super helpful! I’ve been trying to remove dispute comments to get approved for a mortgage and will try your suggestions here.
So I have a dispute comment on a Macy’s accounts that’s over 10 years old and no lates.
Shall I try to remove it and should I do it by phone or mail ?
Hi Jonathan, dispute comments on positive accounts should be removed, as the dispute comment keeps the account from factoring in your score.
You can try calling first and if that doesn’t work utilize the dispute comment removal letter
How long will it takes for these dispute comments to come off once I have contacted the bureaus?
Hi Elva, normally by phone the bureaus may take about 4-5 days, if you write in it may take 2-4 weeks.
Ali, thanks for sharing this, I had no idea that dispute comments on positive accounts may hurt my score. Super excited to get these off my report and increase the score!!! Do you know what kind of score increase can I expect if I remove the comments off two positive accounts?
Hi Cameron, super happy this is going to help you! As for the score increase, it varies from person to person and depends on how old the account is.
Could be anywhere from 5-20 points if they are accounts that are 5-10 years old.
So I have tried calling the bureaus and they say the creditor is not agreeing to remove the dispute comment. What should I do?
Hi George, read the last part of the blog with instructions on how to engage the creditor directly. This should do the trick !
What score increase can I expect if I remove a dispute comment from a positive account ?
Hi Abby, this really varies depending on how old the account is and what the balance utilization is. In a positive scenario, this could range from a 5-20 point increase, it would be towards the higher end if you have no or 1-2 positive accounts showing on your credit report already