How to Dispute Late Charges Reported to Credit Bureaus

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows you to dispute incorrect entries on your credit report. Military Money says the credit bureaus make mistakes frequently, as do the companies that report your financial information. This could include incorrectly reported late charges, which will bring your credit score down. You can dispute these charges and force the credit bureaus to remove them if they are truly in error.

Instructions

1

Determine which credit bureaus are listing the last payments. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion each compile their own credit reports, and the information can differ. The three bureaus must each give you a free credit report on request every 12 months. The Federal Trade Commission says to order the reports through the annualcreditreport.com website or call (877) 322-8228.

2

Determine whether the information is incorrect and what is wrong with it. You can only dispute late charges if they are being reported in error or if there is some other inaccuracy on the item. Otherwise the credit bureaus will label it a frivolous dispute and refuse to investigate it.

3

File a dispute with any of the credit bureaus that are reported the late charges incorrectly. Use their online forms and specify your reasons for believing the information is wrong. Valld reasons include payment dates, amounts, account number, balance on the account, credit line, high balance and virtually anything else that is being reported as part of the item.

4

File a dispute with the company reporting the late charges if the credit bureaus rule against you. The bureaus have 30 days to investigate your complaint. They must remove the late charge information if they cannot confirm it. They can leave it on your reports if they believe its validity has been proven. You can contact the original creditor yourself, according to Military Money. Ask them to stop reporting the late charges if they cannot provide supporting documentation or other proof of validity.