The Dispute Process Under the FCRA

There are two types of disputes:

• “Direct dispute” made to the furnisher (bank, debt collector, entity providing the information to the Credit/consumer agencies).

• “Indirect dispute” made to the Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs, Equifax, Experian, Trans Union, Innovis).

It is important that you understand that ONLY “indirect disputes” made to the CRAs trigger any cause of action under the FCRA.  You MUST include a detailed dispute to the CRAs in order to establish liability under the FCRA.

1. Download and save your credit reports by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com.  This website will provide you a free credit report, once a year and it will not be considered an inquiry or affect your credit score.

2. Review carefully and identify any objective mistakes or inaccuracies.

3. Gather any evidence that would rebut the reporting in your credit report.

4. You may dispute by phone, online or through US Mail.  We strongly recommend via certified US Mail.

5. Make sure to include every detail of your dispute(s) including images and evidence to support your dispute.

6. When the CRAs receive your dispute, they are mandated to conduct a “reasonable investigation”.

7. The CRAs are likely to forward the dispute to the furnisher (bank, debt collector, etc).

8. Upon receipt of this notice, the furnisher of information must: (A) “conduct an investigation with respect to the disputed information”; (B) “review all relevant information provided by the [CRA]” in connection with the dispute; and (C) “report the results of the investigation to the [CRA].” Id. § 1681s-2(b)(1).

9. Should the investigation determine that the disputed information is “inaccurate or incomplete or cannot be verified,” the furnisher must “as appropriate, based on the results of the reinvestigation promptly . . . modify[,] . . . delete [or] permanently block the reporting” of that information to CRAs. Id. § 1681s-2(b)(1)(E).

10. The CRAs upon receipt of the response from the furnisher will send you a response within 30-45 days from the date they received your dispute.

If the inaccurate information is NOT corrected, you could be entitled to significant compensation.  If the information is corrected your recovery for any violation of the FCRA might be lessen.

You MUST dispute through the CRAs in order to trigger the protections afforded by the FCRA.