How a Dispute Service Can Help
A dispute service can help you dispute inaccurate, incomplete, outdated and unverifiable items with all three national credit bureaus. (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion)
In addition, a dispute service will work with the creditors responsible for the inaccurate, incomplete, outdated or unverifiable negative items directly, on your behalf, seeking the corrections the FCRA requires. Under FCRA §611 (15 U.S.C. §1681i), if a disputed item is found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified, the credit bureau must promptly delete it or modify it accordingly — generally within 30 days of receiving your dispute.
Independent dispute service — not a credit bureau
What items can be disputed?
It is important to understand that legitimate negative items — items that are accurate, complete and verifiable — cannot be removed, no matter who submits the dispute. The FCRA only requires deletion or correction of information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified (FCRA §611, 15 U.S.C. §1681i), or that is too old to report under FCRA §605 (generally 7 years for most negative items; 10 years for Chapter 7 bankruptcies). Individual results vary, and some items are resolved more often than others.
Under the FCRA, you may dispute information on your credit report that is:
- Inaccurate — wrong, or not yours
- Incomplete — missing details needed to be accurate
- Outdated — older than the FCRA §605 reporting limits (generally 7 years; 10 years for Chapter 7 bankruptcy)
- Unverifiable — cannot be verified upon reinvestigation (FCRA §611)
Call to walk through a free credit review with a live agent, and address any questions or concerns you may have.
Call : (866) 227-6176Independent dispute service — not a credit bureau
You Can Dispute on Your Own — For Free
You do not need to hire anyone to dispute your credit report. The FCRA gives you the right to dispute information directly with each credit bureau at no cost, and the bureaus must investigate your dispute (generally within 30 days) just as they would a dispute submitted by a paid service. You can file directly here:
- Dispute with Equifax
- Dispute with Experian
- Dispute with TransUnion
- Get your free credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com
The FTC publishes a free step-by-step guide: Disputing Errors on Your Credit Reports. A dispute service is a convenience — it can save you time and handle follow-ups — but it cannot accomplish anything you could not accomplish on your own for free.
What to Expect
Most dispute services will walk you through a risk-free credit summary, which involves reviewing your credit report and identifying inaccurate, incomplete, outdated or unverifiable negative items that may be disputable in order to see if you are a good candidate for the credit dispute services they offer. Based on your individual credit situation, the agent will recommend a course of action. If you accept, the dispute service (also known as a credit dispute company) will begin to dispute items on your behalf with the three major credit bureuas and the creditors responsible for the inaccurate, incomplete, outdated or unverifiable negative items.
The amount of time the process takes from beginning to end will vary based on the number of items being contested and the processes of the dispute service being used. The amount credit dispute companies charge varies, but most charge between $69 and $129 per month, depending on the service level.
Independent dispute service — not a credit bureau
Start working towards the credit score you want. There's no magic bullet for disputing credit. It takes time and accountability. Making on-time payments and keeping revolving balances low can help improve your score.
If your credit report has questionable items on it, you may benefit from disputing those items.