Error on Your Credit Report?

TUESDAY, JUN 15, 2010

Is something being reported incorrect on any one of your credit reports?? Currently, if there is an error showing on any one of your three credit reports (Experian, Equifax or TransUnion) and you dispute it with that creditor, the creditor may or may not let you know what actions they took as a result of your dispute. Did they get your dispute? Have they fixed it? Is what¡¦s being reported on my credit reports actually correct? This may require you to submit the dispute again and again, spending much more time and effort in trying to resolve the issue at hand. Starting July 1st, all this will change!

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act starting July 1st is very similar to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). If you discover an error being reported to any of your credit reports, you will need to submit a dispute to that furnisher (credit card company, bank, or any furnisher that is a debt collector). The FACT Act will require a reasonable investigation regarding your credit account must now be done, keeping in mind the following changes:

1. Direct Dispute Address: A furnisher must provide consumers with an address specifically for disputes. Because of this, a furnisher is only required to investigate the issue if the consumer sends the dispute to the specified address.

2. Your Direct Dispute Must Include:

* Information to identify the account that¡¦s in dispute (account number, name, address, & telephone number of the consumer, if applicable).

* Specific information and an explanation on what the consumer is disputing.

* Any supporting documentation to support the dispute (ex. a police report; fraud/ identity theft affidavit, account statements etc.).

3. Once the Direct Dispute Notice is Received, the furnisher must:

a. Conduct a reasonable investigation with respect to the disputed information;

b. Review all relevant information provided by the consumer with the dispute notice;

c. Complete its investigation of the dispute and report the results of the investigation to the consumer before the expiration period under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)(1))

* In General: Before the end of the 30-day period (begins on the date on the furnisher receives the notice of the dispute from the consumer).

* Extension: may be extended no more than 15 additional days if the furnisher receives information from the consumer during that 30-day period that is relevant to the reinvestigation.

d. Correct any inaccurate information and notify the consumer reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion & Equifax) with the corrections.

4. Frivolous/Irrelevant Disputes: A furnisher is not required to investigate a dispute if the furnisher has determined that the dispute is frivolous or irrelevant.

a. Frivolous or irrelevant if:

* The consumer did not provide sufficient information to investigate the dispute.

* The dispute is considerably the same as a dispute previously submitted (new dispute if information was received that was not previously provided to the furnisher).

* An "Exception" applies.
b. Notification. Once determined that a dispute is frivolous/irrelevant, the furnisher must notify the consumer no later than five business days after making the determination and include the reasons and identify any information required to investigate the disputed information.

! Exceptions !

The new dispute process does not apply if the furnisher has a reason to believe that the dispute was submitted by, was prepared on behalf of the consumer by, or is submitted on a form supplied to the consumer by, a credit repair organization (does not include 501(c)(3) organizations, or any depository institutions).

If any of the following information is being reported incorrectly, the new FACT Act will not apply:

* Your name, date of birth, social security number, telephone number, or address.
* The identity of past/present employers.
* Inquiries/requests for a consumer report
*Information derived from public records, such as judgments, bankruptcies, liens, and other legal matters.
* Information related to fraud alerts or active duty alerts
* Information provided to a consumer reporting agency by another furnisher