How to Dispute Credit Report Problems Caused by Your Student Loan

Having an error on your credit report, especially on account of student loans, is a big problem. In the eyes of a lender, your credit score determines if you are a risk or if you will pay back the loan on time. Damage caused by mistakes on your credit report could leave you in a tight spot when you are looking to get a loan. These steps will help you identify mistakes on your credit report due to erroneous reporting by your student loan lender.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Order a copy of your credit reports from each of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). Simply go to each of the credit bureaus’ Web site and order it online.
2. Print each credit report and carefully go through the information. If you find any mistakes, highlight them. Any mistake, no matter how small, may harm your credit score.
3. Choose how you are going to dispute your credit report. You can do this through the mail, over the phone or online.
4. Make sure you have your confirmation number handy, it will be invaluable to you as file a dispute online.
5. For both online and mail disputes, you will need to include the following information: your name, address, phone number, social security number and, most importantly, a list of every item on your credit report you wish to dispute. Make sure to explain why the information is false.
6. After you submit your dispute, the credit bureaus have 30 days to investigate your claim and get back to you. During this time it is important that you inform any potential lenders that you are disputing you credit report. They will need to order a new report once the changes go through. Once the credit bureau has finished its investigation, they will send you a letter telling you whether or not a change was made.

Tips & Warnings

• Disputing online is the quicker option, but disputing via mail allows you to keep a copy of the dispute letter in your personal records. All three credit bureaus allow online disputes, but only Equifax and TransUnion still accept mail disputes.
• If a change was not made even after these steps, there's still hope. You can try again with new documentation, or you can approach the company that made the inaccurate claim and see if you can work it out with them.
• You are entitled to one free credit report per year. Having a credit report from all three bureaus will enable you to check for differences between the reports, and will help you find mistakes.