Inaccurate Credit Reporting Can Cost You More Than a Credit Score
When Credit Bureaus or Companies Refuse to Correct Bad Information
Errors on a credit report can affect whether you are approved for a mortgage, car loan, apartment, insurance, employment, or other important financial opportunities. When a credit bureau or the company supplying the information fails to correct inaccurate reporting after receiving a proper dispute, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) may provide legal remedies.
The FCRA requires consumer reporting agencies to follow procedures designed to promote accuracy and requires companies that furnish information to credit bureaus to meet specific obligations when reporting and investigating disputed information.
Florida Consumer Lawyers represents consumers in serious credit reporting disputes involving Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, banks, lenders, debt collectors, auto finance companies, landlords, background screening companies, and other furnishers of consumer information.
If you disputed inaccurate information and the problem was not properly investigated or corrected, we want to review what happened.
You May Have an FCRA Case If:
- You disputed inaccurate information with a credit bureau;
- The credit bureau or furnisher failed to conduct a reasonable investigation;
- The inaccurate information remained after the dispute;
- The reporting caused you financial or personal harm; or
- Identity theft, mixed files, or another reporting error continues to affect your credit.
Already disputed the error and it is still being reported?
Save your credit reports, dispute letters, investigation results, denial letters, account statements, and any documents showing the information is wrong. Those records may be critical in determining whether the FCRA was violated.
Common FCRA Violations and Credit Reporting Errors
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are the three major nationwide credit reporting agencies, but the FCRA reaches much further than traditional credit reports. Consumer reporting companies can also provide information used for housing, employment, insurance, background screening, and other eligibility decisions.
Credit reporting errors can cause serious harm. A false account, incorrect balance, mixed file, identity theft account, or inaccurate background report can affect a consumer's ability to obtain credit, housing, employment, or other opportunities.
The legal issue becomes especially important when inaccurate information is disputed and the credit reporting agency or company supplying the information fails to conduct the investigation required by law.
Credit Report Errors That Remain After a Dispute
One of the most important FCRA issues arises when a consumer disputes inaccurate information and the problem is not properly investigated or corrected.
Credit reporting agencies generally must conduct a reasonable reinvestigation of disputed information, and furnishers can have separate investigation duties when a dispute is transmitted to them through the credit reporting process.
Mixed Credit Files
A mixed file occurs when information belonging to another person appears in your consumer report. This can happen when consumers have similar names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, or other identifying information.
Mixed files can result in accounts, collections, judgments, or other information belonging to someone else appearing on your report.
Identity Theft Accounts
Identity theft can cause fraudulent credit cards, loans, collections, or other accounts to appear in a consumer's file.
The FCRA contains specific protections designed to help identity theft victims address fraudulent information, and companies furnishing information also have obligations relating to identity theft reporting.
Incorrect Account Balances or Payment History
Credit reports may contain inaccurate balances, payment histories, delinquency dates, account statuses, or other account information.
If inaccurate information remains after a proper dispute, the investigation conducted by the credit bureau or furnisher may need to be examined.
Re-Aged or Duplicated Accounts
Problems can occur when an old account is reported with an inaccurate delinquency date, making the information appear newer than it actually is, or when the same obligation appears multiple times in a way that creates a misleading picture of the consumer's credit history.
Federal regulatory guidance specifically addresses the need for furnishing practices designed to prevent re-aging and duplicative reporting.
Accounts That Do Not Belong to You
Sometimes a consumer is pursued or reported for an account belonging to another person because of mistaken identity, data-entry errors, mixed files, or other reporting failures.
If you repeatedly dispute an account that is not yours and the information continues to reappear, preserve every dispute and investigation result.
Incorrect Reporting After Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy can create credit reporting issues when accounts are reported with inaccurate balances, payment obligations, or statuses after a discharge.
Not every negative item must disappear simply because a bankruptcy occurred, but information that is reported must still be accurate.
Deleted Information That Reappears
If disputed information is deleted and later reinserted into a consumer's file, the FCRA imposes requirements governing reinsertion and notice to the consumer.
Reappearing information should be reviewed carefully, particularly when the consumer has already completed a dispute process.
Employment and Tenant Background Report Errors
The FCRA is not limited to traditional credit reports. Employment and tenant screening reports can also qualify as consumer reports.
Inaccurate criminal records, eviction information, identity information, or other background data can cause consumers to lose housing or employment opportunities and may raise FCRA issues.
The presence of an error alone does not automatically mean there is an FCRA lawsuit. The dispute history, investigation, accuracy of the information, conduct of the credit reporting agency or furnisher, and harm suffered by the consumer all matter.
If you have already disputed inaccurate information and the error remains, keep every version of your credit report, dispute letter, investigation result, and document showing why the information is wrong.
Can I dispute my credit report?
Yes. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives consumers the right to dispute information in a consumer report that they believe is inaccurate or incomplete.
A dispute should clearly identify the information you believe is wrong, explain why it is inaccurate or incomplete, and include documents that support your position when available.
A strong dispute record can become especially important if the credit reporting agency or furnisher later fails to conduct a reasonable investigation.
Can I request a copy of my credit report?
Yes. Consumers can obtain free credit reports from the nationwide credit reporting agencies through AnnualCreditReport.com.
You may also have rights to additional free reports in certain circumstances, including after certain adverse actions based on information in a consumer report.
If you are dealing with an FCRA dispute, save a complete copy of the report showing the inaccurate information before and after you submit your dispute.
Where Should I Get My Credit Reports?
For reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, use AnnualCreditReport.com, the federally authorized source for free reports from the three nationwide credit reporting agencies.
If your problem involves employment screening, tenant screening, insurance, check verification, or another specialty consumer report, the company that prepared that report may be different from the three major credit bureaus.
If you received an adverse-action notice, keep it. The notice should identify the consumer reporting company whose report was used in the decision.
How Do I File a Credit Report Dispute?
A credit report dispute should clearly identify the inaccurate information and give the credit reporting agency enough information to investigate the problem.
A useful dispute generally includes:
- Your full name and sufficient identifying information;
- The specific account, entry, or information you are disputing;
- A clear explanation of why the information is inaccurate or incomplete;
- Copies of documents supporting your position;
- A clear statement of what you believe should be corrected or removed; and
- A copy of the relevant portion of your consumer report with the disputed information identified.
Keep a complete copy of everything you submit, along with evidence showing when the dispute was sent or submitted.
Be specific. A dispute that simply says “this is wrong” may provide less information for an investigation than a dispute that explains exactly what is inaccurate and includes supporting documentation.
If you later need to evaluate whether a credit bureau or furnisher conducted a reasonable investigation, the contents of your dispute and the documents you provided can become important evidence.
Should I Send My Dispute by Certified Mail?
Consumers may dispute credit information through methods offered by the credit reporting agency, which can include online and written disputes.
Whatever method you use, the important point is to preserve a complete record of what you disputed, why you disputed it, what evidence you provided, and when the dispute was submitted or received.
If you submit a dispute online, save screenshots, confirmation numbers, uploaded documents, emails, and investigation results. If you send a dispute by mail, use a delivery method that allows you to keep reliable proof of mailing and delivery.
Do Not Keep Sending the Same Generic Dispute Over and Over
If inaccurate information remains after a dispute, do not assume that repeatedly sending the same short form or generic template is always the best next step.
Review the investigation result, identify what was not corrected, preserve the supporting documents, and consider whether a more specific dispute or legal review is appropriate.
If you are disputing a serious credit reporting error, save:
- The credit report showing the error;
- Your dispute;
- Supporting documents;
- Proof the dispute was submitted;
- The credit bureau's investigation result;
- Updated credit reports;
- Communications from the company furnishing the information; and
- Any denial, higher-rate offer, housing decision, employment decision, or other document showing harm caused by the reporting.
What Happens After You Dispute an Error on Your Credit Report?
When you dispute inaccurate or incomplete information with a consumer reporting agency, the FCRA generally requires the agency to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation to determine whether the disputed information is inaccurate.
The credit reporting agency must also provide notice of the dispute to the company that furnished the information and include the relevant information it received from the consumer. The furnisher then has its own investigation obligations.
The Credit Bureau Must Conduct a Reasonable Reinvestigation
A credit reporting agency cannot simply ignore a meaningful dispute. It must review the information provided by the consumer and conduct a reasonable reinvestigation of the disputed information.
What is “reasonable” depends on the circumstances, including the nature of the error, the information the consumer submitted, and the steps taken to verify the disputed reporting.
The Furnisher May Also Have Investigation Duties
The company that supplied the disputed information—often called the furnisher—may also have investigation duties.
Furnishers can include banks, credit card companies, mortgage servicers, auto lenders, debt collectors, landlords, and other companies that provide information to consumer reporting agencies.
When a credit bureau forwards a consumer dispute to a furnisher, the furnisher generally must investigate the disputed information, review the information provided with the dispute, and report the results back to the credit reporting agency.
How Long Does the Investigation Take?
Credit reporting disputes are generally investigated within 30 days, although the FCRA allows additional time in certain circumstances.
The consumer should receive the results of the investigation after it is completed.
What Happens If the Information Cannot Be Verified?
If disputed information is found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified as required by law, the information may need to be corrected or deleted.
When a furnisher determines that information it reported was inaccurate, it generally must provide corrected information to the consumer reporting agencies to which it furnished the inaccurate information.
What If the Error Comes Back “Verified” But It Is Still Wrong?
A dispute result saying information was “verified” does not necessarily mean the information is actually accurate or that the investigation was reasonable.
If you provided clear evidence showing that information was wrong and the same error remains after the dispute, preserve the investigation result and obtain an updated copy of your consumer report.
A repeated failure to correct inaccurate information after a meaningful dispute can raise questions about whether the credit reporting agency or furnisher complied with its obligations under the FCRA.
After the Investigation, Save:
- The original credit report showing the error;
- Your dispute and all supporting documents;
- Proof of when the dispute was submitted;
- The credit bureau's investigation results;
- Any response from the furnisher;
- An updated credit report showing whether the error was corrected; and
- Documents showing any harm caused by the inaccurate reporting.
If a dispute is not resolved in your favor, the FCRA may allow you to add a brief statement explaining the dispute to your consumer file. That statement does not necessarily correct the underlying error, however, and it should not be treated as a substitute for addressing inaccurate reporting that may violate the law.
Talk With a Florida FCRA Lawyer
If inaccurate information remains on your credit report after you disputed it, or if a credit bureau, furnisher, background screening company, or other consumer reporting agency failed to properly investigate an error, you may have rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The strongest FCRA cases often involve more than simply finding an error. We want to understand what was reported, how you disputed it, what happened during the investigation, whether the inaccurate information remained, and how the reporting harmed you.
We Particularly Want to Hear From You If:
- You disputed inaccurate information and it was still reported afterward;
- An account belonging to someone else appears on your report;
- Identity theft accounts continue to be reported after you provided supporting documentation;
- A credit bureau mixed your information with another consumer's file;
- A lender, bank, debt collector, auto finance company, mortgage servicer, or other furnisher continued reporting information you can prove is inaccurate;
- Deleted information was reinserted or reappeared;
- An inaccurate background or tenant screening report cost you a job or housing opportunity; or
- Inaccurate reporting caused a credit denial, higher interest rate, loss of housing, employment problem, or other significant harm.
What Should You Have Ready for an FCRA Case Review?
If available, gather:
- The credit or consumer report showing the inaccurate information;
- Your dispute letters or online dispute records;
- Documents proving why the information is wrong;
- Credit bureau investigation results;
- Letters or responses from the company furnishing the information;
- Updated reports showing whether the error remained;
- Credit denial or adverse-action letters;
- Loan offers showing higher rates or less favorable terms;
- Housing or employment denial documents; and
- Other records showing financial or personal harm caused by the inaccurate reporting.
You do not need to have every document before contacting us, but preserving these records can make it much easier to evaluate a potential FCRA claim.
Florida Consumer Lawyers offers free case evaluations for potential FCRA and credit reporting claims. A consumer lawyer can review the dispute history, reporting, supporting documents, and harm to determine whether further investigation or legal action may be appropriate.
Already disputed the error and it is still there? Tell us what happened.