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These days, much of our lives are lived online. We search for information on Google, and share information about our lives (and observe those of others), on Facebook. We conduct career networking on LinkedIn, and shop on Amazon.

Much of our financial lives are conducted on the Web as well. We check our bank account balances, and pay off our credit cards, through apps like Mint. We search for homes on Zillow and Trulia. And yes, we monitor our credit through online platforms like Credit Karma and Discover.

Yet, when it comes to improving one’s credit (or helping your client’s with their credit, if you are a real estate or lending professional), the Internet isn’t always the way to go.

If you’ve logged into Credit Karma recently, or perhaps visited the websites of Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, you will see that there is an option through which you can dispute credit items online, by simply filling out a series of forms, where you’ll select the reason why you are disputing an item (i.e. the item is not yours, or you never paid late on an account, it is outdated, etc). After the dispute is submitted, the credit bureaus are required by law, to respond in writing within 30 to 45 days.

 

Why shouldn’t you dispute credit items by use of online?

There are several reasons. First, under the provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), when you mail a dispute to a credit bureau, the bureau must respond to the dispute in writing, within 30 days. If they don’t respond within that time, the item must be deleted from your credit reports. If the item is not removed, the bureau has violated the FCRA, which is grounds for a lawsuit.

When you submit a credit dispute by certified mail, the bureau is forced to open your letter, copy the information you provided, and send it to the data furnisher (whoever placed the negative information on your accounts).

Often, since credit disputes tend to last for several rounds, a credit bureau might remember to respond to the first round of a dispute, but not later rounds, or vice versa. By doing so, they have violated the FCRA, which will increase the chances of having your item permanently deleted.

Disputing by mail forces credit bureaus to meet a higher barrier, which they often cannot satisfy.

Disputing by mail also allows you to define the dispute on your own terms. What does this mean? When you fill out a dispute online, you are forced to work within the options provided by the credit bureaus. All of this language is formulated in a way which is most convenient and beneficial to the credit bureaus and data furnishers, rather than you. Their wording might be overly broad, or admit to more facts than you might like.

By submitting your own dispute letters, via mail, you’ll protect your rights, and increase your (or your client’s) chances of success.

Ultimately, disputing errors on credit reports, is about forcing credit bureaus and furnishers to meet their legal obligations to ensure that information which appears on our reports is:

1. Accurate
2. Verifiable, and
3. Timely.

Credit bureaus have important duties, and there’s no reason to let them out of it, by using dispute letters which are less than highly effective.

Yes, sending credit dispute letters by certified mail costs money, and requires the effort of a post office visit. Bad credit costs you (and your clients) even more.

A little money and time spent now, will increase your chances of credit success, down the line.

 

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