If you find an error on your credit report, such as an account that isn’t yours or an incorrect amount, mail a completed dispute form that comes with the report or a letter to the credit agency which reported the error, enclosing a copy of your report with the disputed item(s) circled. (The agency’s address and phone number should be on your credit report.) Be sure to include your full name, mailing address, phone number, date of birth, social security number, the name and account number of the creditor, your signature the reason you are disputing the item in question, and copies of any relevant documentation. Send your form or letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, and keep a copy along with the documents sent with it.

The credit reporting agency must send a copy of your dispute to the business that provided the disputed information.  The agency is required to investigate the dispute and must provide you with the results of its investigation.

If the agency agrees with you, it must then remove or correct the information on your credit report, and give you a copy of the revised report.

If the dispute is not settled in your favor, you have the right to require the credit reporting agency to add a written Statement of Dispute to your credit file. This statement is your explanation of why you believe the information is in error. The creditor that reported the disputed information may also send its own statement to the credit reporting agency. That statement would explain that your attempts to resolve the dispute have failed and provides the details of the dispute to any future creditors.

You can also file a dispute with the credit reporting agency’s Consumer Assistance Center, whose phone number should be on your credit report. If you believe the credit reporting agency has violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you can file a lawsuit in state or federal court.

Finally, if the charge still remains on your credit report at the creditor’s insistence, you can file a complaint with the Florida Attorney General’s Office, The Capitol PL-01, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050, 850-414-3300 and/or the Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC 20580, 1-877-382-4357. 

The website for the Florida Attorney General’s Office is www.myfloridalegal.com and the Federal Trade Commission’s is www.ftc.gov.