How to Use Credit Dispute Letters

When you find an error on your credit report, you probably want to have this mistake corrected. This is what a credit dispute letter is for. Once you contact the credit companies who caused the mistake, they send you a letter stating that they asked the credit agencies to remove the errors from your report. You will then need to write your own credit dispute letter to send along with their confirmation to the credit agencies. Never completely rely on the credit companies to take care of this for you.

Instructions

1

Send certified letters. Many financial advisers say that you should not send separate dispute letters. Instead, combine your dispute letters into one letter to save on the cost. For additional information, visit Credit Infocenter. (See Resources for link). Certified letters typically cost about $5.10 each, so if you have a lot of errors, you will be spending a lot of money sending them separately versus together. You might worry that they won't investigate each dispute if all are listed together. However, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, credit agencies must investigate each dispute as long as there is a separate reason for each dispute.

2

Include relevant information. You need a copy of your current credit report. You also need to include the account name and number that you are disputing. You also need to add personal information such as your name, address and social security number. Any supporting documents, such as paid receipts, speed along the process.

3

Keep the letter simple and straightforward. This is especially important if you are disputing multiple items. List each dispute in a separate paragraph. Include in your letter the provisions in the Fair Credit Reporting Act that specify it is your legal right to engage in this process. Be courteous; you won't get anywhere by making threats.

4

Format your letter correctly. A dispute letter is basically a normal letter with specific information about your credit report. However, you still want it to look professional. There are thousands of credit dispute letter samples available online.

5

Get copies of your credit report. Once you get the mistakes cleared up, obtain a copy of your credit report to make sure it is indeed free of all errors. There are several different companies you can use for this service, and some of them are free. A couple of examples are Annual Credit Report and Free Credit Report. Continue to check your credit report on a regular basis to monitor for mistakes that could potentially harm your score.