Reporting Credit Disputes

Reporting credit disputes should first be done to the credit issuer and then reported to the 3 credit agencies if prior attempts are unsuccessful. In many cases lenders are more than happy to correct any problem that you bring to their attention and will rectify the situation in a short timeframe. Communicating with the credit issuer is an important step to show that you are trying to improve your credit and may also lead you to discover that you have accounts that you failed to remember.

Past Due Accounts

One of the largest inhibitors to a high credit score is a past due credit card account, one that you may have even forgotten that you had open. You may have overlooked a bill because you have changed addresses and not received a recent statement. If you take time to review your history and report the problem to a credit agency, you may be able to repair previous damage.

Even if one of your past due balances is less than $100 it can have a significant impact on your credit report. You have made the mistake before of not keeping the account current, so once you realize your error it is important that you take the necessary steps to correct it. Or perhaps you paid a collection agency that failed to report those payments to the issuer and update your credit history. This is one reason why reporting credit disputes is important for your credit report and financial status.

Reporting Credit Disputes on Your Own

If you have never reviewed your credit report and tried to correct errors you have found then you may assume that you need help from a third party in order to clear up mistakes or dispute an item. A credit repair company may try to sell itself to you claiming that it has many more resources it can use to help you improve your credit. While this is true, there are ways for you to report disputed items and make corrections to your credit report by yourself that only require a little bit of time and no financial investment.