Whenever a person finds a mistake in the credit report the next course of action would be to dispute. This is a right given to you under the Federal Law and you are entitled to dispute any information that is incorrect. You can report to the credit reporting agencies who are reporting the data and the furnisher as well (the credit card issuing company, the debt collector, or auto lender for instance). The furnisher will have to carry out the investigation and report within a period of 30 days.
But it is not necessary that the item will be fixed just because it is disputed. Stuart K. Pratt from the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) has said in a written testimony that was submitted in 2007 to the House Financial Services Committee that out of the 52 million credit file disclosures that had been reviewed by the consumers, there were just about 1.98% of them that resulted in disputes where the data had been deleted.
This is largely due to the fact that the human touch is not present and the entire system is highly automated. For instance, when an item is disputed, it is coded by using either a two or three digit code which corresponds to the reason of the dispute. This can easily be done online but if you choose to send in your dispute through mail, then the person who does the processing will code it. If this item is ‘confirmed’ to be correct then the computer from the consumer reporting agency will ‘talk’ to the computer that belongs to the furnisher. If there is no response from the furnisher then it will be removed. If the furnisher gives a confirmation that the error is there, then it would be corrected.
While this system may be very efficient, the NCLC is of the opinion that it compounds the problems for customers who try to get these items corrected. Specific problems include:
- This is because of the failure on the part of the CRA to send supporting documentary evidence to creditors as well as other information providers as specified by the FCRA.
- Due to the limited role of employees that handle these disputes and more often than not it’s the workers who are employed by the offshore vendors. Hence, workers don’t handle most of these things in an investigation such as reviewing documents or contacting customers, or any other form of investigation.
Similar Posts:
- Mistakes in the credit report – what can you expect
- People are now vigilant in Filing a Dispute on Wrong Info on your Credit Reports
- Simple steps in clearing your credit record
- What If the Credit Bureau Cannot Verify Negative Information on My Credit Report?
- Credit report errors and its effect on consumer’s creditworthiness
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