How to Dispute Credit Report Items With the Creditor or Collector

If your credit reports contain errors or outdated information, you can dispute those items with the credit reporting bureau (Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion) that produced the report. You can also go directly to the source and dispute the item with the creditor or collector who reported the information (called a "furnisher") to the credit reporting agency.

After you dispute such information, the company that provided the information to a consumer reporting agency must investigate.

Furnishers Can't Report Incorrect Information

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) (15 U.S.C. §§ 1681 and following), companies that report information to the credit reporting agencies (again, these companies are called "furnishers") must not furnish any information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if they know or have reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate. (15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2 (2025).)

The Furnisher's Duty to Investigate

Companies that furnish information about you to consumer reporting agencies must respond to a dispute in the same time frame that applies when you send a dispute letter to a credit reporting agency, generally 30 or 45 days. (15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b)(2), 15 U.S.C. § 1681i (a)(1) (2025).)

So, if you dispute an item in your credit report with the furnisher, the furnisher must investigate your dispute before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the agency receives the notice of the dispute from you. The 30-day period may be extended for not more than 15 additional days if the consumer reporting agency receives information from you during that 30-day period that's relevant to the reinvestigation.(15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1) (2025).)

In the reinvestigation process, the furnisher must:

• conduct an investigation with respect to the disputed information
• review all relevant information you provide
• report the results of the investigation to the consumer reporting agency, and
• if the investigation finds that the information is incomplete or inaccurate, report those results to all other consumer reporting agencies to which they furnished the information. (15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b) (2025).)

Again, the company has 30 days to investigate, which can be extended up to 45 days if you send additional information during this period, and it must inform you of the results within five business days of completion. (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(6) (2025).)

When the Creditor or Collector Doesn't Have to Respond

In a few situations, the creditor, collector, or other company that furnished information to the credit reporting agency doesn't have to respond to your dispute.

You already contacted the credit reporting agency. If you already contacted the credit reporting agency directly to dispute incorrect or incomplete information in your credit file, and the company that furnished the information already responded appropriately to that dispute, it doesn't have to respond again unless you provide additional information. (15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(8)(F) (2025).)

A credit repair organization prepared the dispute. The creditor also doesn't have to investigate if it has a reasonable belief that a credit repair organization submitted the dispute or prepared the dispute on your behalf or you submitted the dispute on a form supplied by a credit repair organization. This is just one of the many reasons you shouldn't use a credit repair company. (15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(8)(G) (2025).)

Summary The Creditor's Obligations When You Dispute Information

Under the FCRA, a creditor who furnishes information to credit reporting agencies must:

• reinvestigate when you dispute reported information (as discussed above)
• not report incorrect information once it learns or has a reasonable basis to believe that the information is, in fact, incorrect (but it doesn't have to correct information if the only contrary information it has is your claim)
• promptly provide credit reporting agencies with correct, complete information when it learns that the information it has been reporting is incorrect or incomplete, and
• finish its investigation of a consumer dispute within the 30- or 45-day time frame.

If the Creditor Agrees That the Information Is Incorrect: Next Steps

If you get a letter from the creditor that furnished the information agreeing that the information is incorrect and should be removed from your credit file, send a copy of the creditor's letter to the credit reporting agency that included the information in your credit report.

Monitoring Your Credit Reports

A big part of maintaining good credit is checking your credit reports frequently.

Check Your Reports Often

Under the FCRA, you can get one free copy of your credit report every 12 months from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. However, the agencies now voluntarily provide free weekly reports online, a service they started during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can view your reports at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Look for old or inaccurate information on the reports. Also, check for anything that looks fishy. It could be a sign of identity theft.

Check Your Reports Before a Major Credit Purchase or Refinance

If you're planning to make a major purchase (like a house or a car) or a major financial commitment (like refinancing your mortgage), you might want to review information from all three agencies well in advance—especially if you haven't diligently reviewed them regularly.

Here's why this is important:

• It gives you time to get the credit reporting agency to add missing information and dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. That way, your credit file looks as good as possible.
• If your lender purchases a combined report from a reseller, the information provided by the three major agencies is as consistent and favorable as possible. (A "reseller" is a credit agency that assembles and merges information from other agencies into a single report for use by a third party.)
• You'll be aware of negative information you might want to discuss directly with the potential creditor to minimize its impact.

Whenever You're Entitled to Free Reports

Sometimes, you can get additional free credit reports, like if:

• you're turned down for credit
• your credit limit is reduced
• you're offered less favorable credit terms than you requested or
• you're unemployed and seeking employment.

Take advantage of these situations to review your reports again.

Check Nationwide Specialty Credit Reports

Don't forget that nationwide credit reporting agencies other than the three big nationwide agencies (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) also must give you a free report every twelve months if you request it. Consider whether you should check those reports as well.

If you're planning on moving to a new rental, have had problems with bounced checks, or are planning on getting a private health insurance plan, for example, you might want to find out what is in specialty reports about you on those topics.

To get your specialty credit reports, you'll have to contact each agency individually.

When to Talk to a Lawyer

If you've exhausted all other options for correcting your credit report, and the credit reporting agency still won't fix an error (or errors), consider talking to a consumer protection attorney who can help you enforce your rights. You have the right to sue a credit reporting agency that violates your rights under the FCRA, including continuing to report incorrect information.