Credit reports can contain errors in multiple areas of your credit report: balances, type of account, monthly payment, payment status, personal information and inquiries. Disputing items on your credit report is a right given to you by federal law. You can dispute any item on your credit report that is reported incorrectly. Disputing incorrect items helps keep your credit report and score at their optimum.
Inquiries
Credit inquiries come in two forms: hard and soft. A hard credit inquiry is performed by a creditor when you apply for credit. A hard credit inquiry will lower your score minimally and will appear on your credit report for two years. When applying for credit, if you see the same type of creditor making this kind of inquiry multiple times in a 14-day period, your credit score will only be dinged for one inquiry. This is beneficial when shopping for the best rate for a vehicle loan or mortgage. A soft credit inquiry is used by lenders evaluating you for credit, current lenders checking your financial situation or you yourself when you pull a copy of your credit report. A soft inquiry does not show on your credit report and does not affect your credit score.
FCRA
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) gives you the right to dispute any inaccurate information shown on your credit report. This includes inquiries. Checking your inquiries is important because it can find an indication of identity theft. If you find a hard inquiry but have not applied for the credit, notify the credit bureau by mail, phone or email.
Dispute Letter
Provide your name, address, last four digits of your Social Security number and date of birth in your dispute letter. Include a copy of your driver's license to show you are, in fact, the person filing the dispute. Explain that you have pulled a copy of your credit report and have found inquiries that you did not request. List each one and ask that a credit dispute be initiated to correct the matter. Mail the dispute to the credit bureau dispute address listed in the credit report. It is also helpful to send a letter directly to the creditor explaining you did not apply for credit. Inquiries are not easy to remove but the creditor might do so with the credit bureau.
Dispute Process
When the credit agency receives your dispute letter it will send a message to the creditor requesting the creditor review the account and check whether you requested the credit. The creditor has 30 days to respond. If the creditor responds within the 30 days and verifies you did request the credit the inquiry will stay on your credit report. The inquiry will be removed if the creditor fails to respond or tells the credit bureau to remove the inquiry. If you feel strongly that you are a victim of identity theft, inform the credit bureau immediately and your inquiries may be removed as part of the fraud reporting process.
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