Five Ways Credit Bureaus May Respond to a Credit Report Dispute

The information in your credit report has a major impact on whether your new applications for credit cards and loans are approved. Having positive information is key to showing that you're a responsible borrower. Your credit report can only contain accurate, complete, and timely information and you're allowed to challenge any information that doesn't fit the criteria for reporting.

If you spot errors on your credit report, you can have your credit report updated by making a dispute to the credit bureau reporting the error. While you can dispute directly online, it’s generally better to send a letter. Once the credit bureau receives your dispute, they have 30 to 45 days investigate and then take one of a few different actions.

Remove the account.

The credit bureau investigates your dispute with the company that listed the information on your credit report. If the investigation shows that the disputed information shouldn’t be on your credit report, the credit bureau will remove the details. Disputed items may also be removed from your credit report if the business doesn’t respond to the credit bureau in time or if they do not respond at all.

You’ll receive an updated credit report with the correction made. You can request that your updated credit report be sent to any business that viewed your credit report within the last two years. If you’ve been shopping for a new loan or credit card, an updated credit report may improve your chances of getting approved.

Update your information.

When you’re disputing a specific detail about an item and the investigation’s results line up with your dispute, the credit bureau will update the information on your credit report. For example, if you’ve disputed the status of an account, the credit bureau will update the account to show the right status.

Leave your credit report as is.

Information is only removed or updated on your credit report if it is inaccurate, incomplete, or outside the credit reporting time limit. If the investigation shows that none of those were applicable, there won’t be any change to your credit report. The credit bureau will send a summary of the investigation results to make you aware of how the dispute was investigated.

If the credit bureau does not remove inaccurate information after a dispute, you are allowed to dispute directly with the business who provided the information. The business is required to investigate your dispute and then update the credit bureaus with the results. Sending any proof you have that supports your dispute helps you get the inaccurate information removed from your report.

Toss your dispute as frivolous.

Credit bureaus have the right to reject your dispute as frivolous. When this happens, they won’t investigate your dispute or make any changes to your credit report. Disputes may be considered frivolous if you repeatedly dispute the same items without providing any new information. Your disputes may also be tossed out if you dispute everything on your credit report.

Reinsert previously deleted information.

Legally, credit bureaus are allowed reinstate certain information that was previously deleted from your credit report. This can happen if the information was removed and the business later verifies the information. However, credit bureaus aren’t allowed to reinsert items that were the result of fraud or identity theft as long as you’ve provided the necessary documents to show that you’ve been a victim.