How long does it take to correct something on a credit report?

[Liz CA]

There is an account on my report that does not belong there. It does not seem to affect me in any way (paid off) but should I still try to correct it? I am so not a person who wants to hassle with things like this but in the interest of accuracy and all that...

There is supposed to be a new way to start the process online. Has anyone tried it? If you have done it the mail-in way, where did you start?

[Rachel]

I've done it online. Some things are handled almost instantly, some take a few days. It probably depends on the error though.

[MomtoCandJ]

In 2006 or so we were able to remove an error off of dh's report online. It was something of his brother's and it wasn't good.

[Katy]

Well, it really seems to depend on the mood of the person who answers your complaint.

 

DH had an issue that took MONTHS to get off.   This was years ago, when we were trying to buy our first house.  I had to appeal four times (I wrote the letter, he signed it). It had to do with a disputed issue at an old apartment, it was a college apartment where he rented a bedroom but there was a common Living/Dining/Kitchen and two shared bathrooms.  Say, for example, if DH was in apartment 201 (bedroom A), the guy who created the charge was in 201 (bedroom C), but somehow DH had a complaint filed against him.  It was difficult to get off because even the apartment complex agreed the credit report was in error, but somehow the whole thing had gone to a collection agency and because DH hadn't disputed the charge he didn't know about in their first 30 days, they kept putting it back in his credit report.  It was INFURIATING.

 

Eventually I got very threatening with quoting about knowing my rights under the fair credit reporting act. While it's very simple to appeal things on credit bureau websites, DH's issue didn't get resolved until I sent a letter in the mail that was return receipt requested.  I suspect they (correctly) assumed if I went that far my next step was to contact a lawyer. I had a letter from the apartment complex stating it wasn't and never had been his debt, but they didn't listen until I mailed it.

 

Anyway, my advice is to do the old fashioned thing and send a letter. 

[avbprincess]

Just last week, Monday morning, my husband found out that he had a property tax lien on his Transunion credit report that did not belong to us. I called Transunion's credit disputes phone number (found under the contact link on their website), went through a short phone tree, and spoke to someone immediately. I told the rep what was going on, and he made a few notes on why I claimed this was not our lien and said the dispute was now open.

 

Their process starts by contacting whatever company or organization originally reported the information to seek confirmation of it's validity. That company then has 30 days to respond. If they do not respond, the disputed item is deleted. Once Transunion was the necessary information a decision is made and the dispute is closed. They then mail a letter disclosing the results of their investigation. Our dispute was decided in our favor two days after I called. They took two days to mail the letter, which reached us two days after that. All told, we knew a week after I called.

 

I chose to call, as I wanted to talk directly to a person in order to make my case clear and ask any questions. After I'd opened the dispute, I tried seeing what opening a dispute online was like, but the system said it wouldn't work with the data provided and I'd have to call, so I don't know if online will work for you. I called Transunion twice, and both times immediately got someone on the phone, so I'd try that before mailing in a dispute if I were you.

 

Of course, as another poster said, the time a dispute takes is going to depend on what needs to be disputed, and how quickly the company that has to verify the information responds to the credit bureau. I've read that you can mail in your own supporting documents, but I chose to let the credit bureau do the leg work to start. In theory, though, it shouldn't take much more than a month. Even if an item isn't detrimental to your credit, I think it's worth trying to remove it. Good luck!

[Liz CA]

Thank you! I will try online or phone call first since it is not super urgent. Choosing the path of least effort here....:)

[Wildcat]

We have had a few things removed over the years that took a short time. I like the online dispute method because I get an electronic/paper trail and I don't have to talk to anyone on the phone. :001_smile: