How to remove a dispute from your credit report

Disputed accounts are not allowed to be on your credit report during the mortgage process.  If you have a disputed account on your credit report, your lender will receive inaccurate credit report information especially if it’s on a derogatory mark or late payment. The FICO scoring model treats a disputed account  differently.  For example, if you dispute a credit card balance the FICO model will not consider the that balance in your scoring algorithm, this may result in a temporary artificial credit score for your lender. 

It’s important to know your credit score and what’s on your credit report.  Don’t be fooled by look-alike sites the only place to find all three reports for free is AnnualCreditReport.com. If you have a dispute on your credit report follow the steps below to have it removed. 

Here are the steps on how to do it:

1. Go to the website of the credit bureau that reported the dispute.
• Experian: //www.experian.com/
• Equifax: //www.equifax.com/
• TransUnion: //www.transunion.com/
2. Log in to your account. If you don’t have an account, you’ll need to create one.
3. Click on the “Disputes” tab.
4. Find the dispute comment that you want to remove.
5. Click on the “Remove Dispute” button.
6. Enter your reason for removing the dispute comment.
7. Click on the “Submit” button.

The credit bureau will investigate your request and remove the dispute comment from your credit report if they find that it is resolved, inaccurate or unverifiable. This process can take a few weeks.

Here are some additional tips for removing dispute comments from your credit report prior to applying for a mortgage loan:

• Dispute the information as soon as possible. The sooner you dispute the information, the sooner it can be removed from your credit report.
• Provide documentation to support your dispute. If you have any documentation that supports your dispute, such as a letter from the creditor or a copy of your credit report, be sure to include it with your dispute.
• Follow up with the credit bureaus to make sure that the disputed item, mark or comment has been removed.

Removing a dispute or a disputed comment from your credit report can take some time and effort, be patient.

Federal law requires each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – to give you a free credit report every 12 months if you ask for it.