PHOTOGRAPH BY TODD SPOTH 10/2019^ KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE 45
that may back up your case. Sending
a copy of your credit report with the
area in question marked may help. If
a creditor is falsely reporting that you
didn’t pay a bill, try to pull up a bank
statement showing that you did. Keep
copies of everything you send to the
bureaus and furnishers. If you talk to
representatives on the phone, note the
names of people who spoke with you
and the date, time and content of your
conversations.Round two. After the bureaus complete
their investigations, they should send
you written results, plus a free copy
of your credit report if something has
changed. If your dispute succeeds, give
yourself a pat on the back—but stay
vigilant in case the error creeps back
onto your reports. Legally, that’s pro-
hibited unless the furnisher certifies the
item’s accuracy to the bureau, says Wu.
If the dispute fails, you have a few
options. You can contest the error
again, but you likely won’t get any-
where unless you have new informa-
tion to bring to the table. You may
write a 100-word statement to be in-
cluded in your credit file that tells
your side of the story, but it probably
won’t be effective. Many lenders view
credit reports in a format that doesn’t
show the statement, and credit scores
don’t consider it, says credit expert
John Ulzheimer. Or you can choose
to live with the error. That may be
acceptable to you if it isn’t causing real
harm to your creditworthiness (say,
a misspelling of your name). If none
of those options are suitable, turn to
the government or an attorney for help
(see the box on page 46).FIGHT FRAUD
If your credit reports contain inac-
curacies because an identity thief is
at work, the bureaus must block the
fraudulent items from appearing as
long as you follow certain procedures.
Because the Fair Credit Reporting Act
contains these special stipulations for
fraud, you may see quicker or more
streamlined relief than you wouldrepeat dispute, says Chi Chi Wu, staff
attorney for the NCLC.
Submitting a dispute online is usu-
ally the quickest method, but legal
experts recommend sending it via cer-
tified mail, return receipt requested,
to leave a paper trail. You can find
more information on how to file a
dispute for each bureau, including
mailing addresses and online dispute
portals, at http://www.equifax.com/disputes,
http://www.experian.com/disputes and
http://www.transunion.com/disputes.
Keep the description of your dispute
clear and concise. Issues involving a
mixed file, fraud or identity theft are
prioritized, so be sure to cite the type
of problem you have. Describe the res-
olution you expect—say, the removal of
a credit account that isn’t yours from
your credit report—and include details
about the account in question, such as
the account number and the name of
the lender or other furnisher. Put in
your personal information, including
name, Social Security number, mailing
address and birth date.
Include any supporting documents■ MARGARET AND DANIEL
FINELT HAVE BOTH HAD
TROUBLE GETTING THEIR
FREE CREDIT REPORTS
FROM EQUIFAX.