Once you register your dispute with the credit reporting agencies, they must investigate the items in question within 30 days and get back to you with its results – unless they consider your dispute frivolous. As part of its investigation, the credit reporting agency also must forward all the relevant data you provide about the inaccuracy to the organization (creditor) that provided the information.
After the information provider receives notice of a dispute from the credit reporting agency, it must investigate, review the relevant information, and report the results back to the credit reporting agency. If the information provider finds the disputed information is inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide consumer reporting companies so they can correct the information in your file.
It will take between 2 weeks to a month to receive a reply from the credit-reporting agency letting you know that your letter has been received and your dispute is being investigated.
When the investigation is complete in another 2-4 weeks, the credit reporting agency must give you the results in writing and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change. If an item is changed or deleted, the credit reporting agency cannot put the disputed information back in your file unless the information provider verifies that it is accurate and complete. The credit reporting agency also must send you written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the information provider.
If you request, the credit reporting agency must send notices of any correction to anyone who received your report in the past six months. You can have a corrected copy of your report sent to anyone who received a copy during the past two years for employment purposes.
If an investigation doesn't resolve your dispute with the credit reporting agency, you can ask that a statement of the dispute be included in your file and in future reports. You also can ask the credit reporting agency to provide your statement to anyone who received a copy of your report in the recent past. You can expect to pay a fee for this service.
After you have received your response, repeat the process all over again. Consumers who have successfully cleaned their credit report say that they have denied a bankruptcy or judgment and have received verification from the credit bureau that it was in public record. They denied a second time and some even a third time, and finally the credit bureau deleted the bankruptcy from the report. So do not get discouraged! Patience and persistence are important keys to incredible success in repairing a damaged credit report.
The creditors or lenders who reported the items to the bureaus must be the ones to provide information to verify the dispute. These creditors do not always have the staff and proper records to verify all disputes within 30 days to keep the item from being removed. So you can see how possible it is to remove negative information from your credit file. How well is this going to work for you? The only way is to try.
