I’ve written this post using my 20 plus year experience as a credit advocate to help people dispute accounts online
As you are aware there are 3 major credit bureaus that lenders use to approve you for credit: Experain, Equifax and Transunion.
Each are separate companies and have a separate credit report for you. They DO NOT communicate with one another.
When disputing , check all 3 companies and dispute with each one separately
DISPUTING ONLINE WITH EXPERIAN
So you’ll need to setup a free account at experian.com or download the Experian mobile app account
You do NOT need to pay for their paid service. The free account is fine
Watch video on How to dispute on Experian.com phone app (using phone app) :
Disputing online with Equifax
Use the link below to setup an account with Transunion and there you’ll be able to dispute the questionable accounts.
Keep in mind this website does not give you a printable credit report. You do not need to pay for their upgraded service
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-dispute
Disputing online with Transunion
Use the link below to setup an account with Transunion and there you’ll be able to dispute the questionable accounts. You do not need to pay for their upgraded service
https://www.transunion.com/credit-disputes/dispute-your-credit
Disputing Online With Creditkarma ( alternate way to dispute Transunion)
Alternate to Transunion.com: creditkarma app may allow you to dispute transunion as well
How to dispute Transunion on Creditkarma app:
FAQ:
WHAT REASONS TO PICK FOR YOUR DISPUTES ?
The main thing is to get the bureaus to investigate, often the reason is not as important, but if possible be specific , and look for the following info on your credit report to dispute
1.Anything you find wrong or incorrect about the account,
2.iIf you see a certain field missing against an account: eg. missing date of last payment or missing high credit, you can dispute
3.If you’ve got a very old account , and the bureaus are missing years of on time payment history. Then you can dispute it as payment history incorrect and state the bureaus are missing part of your good payment history ( this may lead to deletion of the entire account, it will not work for collection accounts, but may work for charge-off or closed accounts with lates)
Best practice: if you’re disputing an account you’ve disputed in the past, make sure to use a different reason for the dispute than you’ve used before
HOW OFTEN SHOULD I DISPUTE WITH THE CREDIT BUREAUS?
You can put in dispute with each bureaus once every 60 days. Keep on dispute for several months. You’ll need to dispute at least 2 to 3 time to have a shot at getting results. But keep on disputing as many times until you see results
Best practice: if you’re disputing an account you’ve disputed in the past, which came back verified, make sure to use a different reason for the dispute than you’ve used before. Unless you’re sure the account is inaccurately reporting in which case use the same reason as before.
WHAT IF A BUREAU IS NOT ALLOWING ME TO DISPUTE ONLINE?
You can call them or send in your dispute by mail and this sample credit bureau dispute letter.
