Consumer
Protection Bureau
Learn more at consumernance.gov 2 of 3
In your dispute letter, you may want to enclose
a copy of the relevant portion of your credit
report. Highlight the items in question.
Also, include copies of documents that
support your position. Never send your original
documents. Keep copies of your dispute letters
and enclosures.
The credit reporting company and the furnisher
should investigate the dispute and x any
mistake. If the disputed information is wrong or
cannot be veried, the company that provided
the information must delete or change it and
provide a correction to the credit reporting
companies that received it. If an investigation
doesn’t resolve your dispute led with a
consumer report company, you can ask that a
statement of the dispute be included in your
credit le and in future credit reports.
You don’t need to pay for
credit monitoring
Many companies that promise free credit
reports want to sign you up for credit
monitoring services or other products.
You can take these free or lower-cost steps
to protect yourself.
If you have complaints or concerns about a
credit monitoring service, contact the Federal
Trade Commission, 877-FTC-HELP.
Monitor your credit yourself
Under the law, you are entitled to a free
credit report every 12 months from each of
the nationwide credit reporting companies.
You can get these reports all at once, or
spread them out. For example, you could
visit annualcreditreport.com in January to
get your Experian report, in April to get your
Equifax report, and again in August to get your
TransUnion report. By rotating your requests
this way, you can keep an eye on your credit
records throughout the year for free.
Put the freeze on identity thieves
You do not need to pay a credit monitoring
service to stop thieves from opening accounts
with your information. Contact Equifax,
Experian, and TransUnion and ask that they
put a freeze on your credit reports. A freeze
prevents prospective lenders from accessing
your credit le unless you lift the freeze for
that lender or for a specied period of time.
Typically, lenders won’t offer you credit if they
can’t access your credit reporting le, so a
freeze prevents you or others from opening
accounts in your name. Freezes are free.
Request a fraud alert
If you believe that you have been or are about
to become the victim of identity theft or fraud,
you can place a fraud alert on your credit report.
A fraud alert requires lenders to take steps
to verify your identity before opening a new
account at your request, or issuing an
additional credit card or increasing the credit
limit on an existing account. You can also
provide a telephone number so lenders can
call you to verify your identity (a fraud alert
does not prevent a lender from opening credit
in your name).