How to Report Corrections to All the Credit Bureau Agencies

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By Barb Nefer
eHow Contributing Writer

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Credit bureaus may report your accounts incorrectly.

Errors on your credit report can lower your credit score and inhibit your ability to open new accounts. Fortunately, you are entitled to copies of your credit reports and can notify the credit bureaus of any corrections that are needed to remove erroneous information. You will need to check your reports from all of the bureaus and report any problems to each individual bureau to make sure they are corrected.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Step 1

Request a free copy of your credit report from all three of the main credit bureaus. Transunion, Equifax, and Experian must all provide you with one free copy upon your request on an annual basis. This allows you to check regularly for any needed corrections.
Step 2

Go through each of your credit reports, making a note of any incorrect information. Make a list of what is wrong and the report(s) on which the errors appear.
Step 3

Visit each credit bureau's website and fill out a dispute form for the incorrect items. You must report corrections separately to each of the three bureaus, even if the same mistake appears on all three of your reports. Each credit bureau is a separate company, and they do their investigations independently.
Step 4

Request a second copy of your credit report from each bureau to which you reported corrections. Give them 60 days to investigate the problem and make corrections before requesting the new copy. If the information is not corrected, they are required to report the results of their investigation.

Tips & Warnings

If a bureau refuses to make a correction because they say the disputed information has been verified and is true, you can add a consumer statement to your file. This explains your side of the situation and can be viewed by lenders and creditors.
Make sure to order your free credit reports from each bureau's official website. Other websites claim to offer free reports, but they make it contingent on selling you credit monitoring or other services.