How Long Does It Take to Dispute Something on Your Credit Report?

Your credit report provides the information used to calculate your credit score, and the report also provides some of the data used by lenders when they evaluate your application for credit. Employers and insurance companies sometimes use information on an applicant's credit report when making certain determinations. If your credit report contains information you believe is inaccurate, file a dispute, which should be resolved within a couple of months.

Initiate Dispute

You can obtain a free copy of your credit report once each year through AnnualCreditReport.com. When you receive your credit report, you can review the information for possible errors or inaccuracies. The process of initiating a dispute for a perceived inaccuracy should not take more than an hour. It could take even less time, depending on what you are disputing and what method you use to initiate the dispute with the credit bureau reporting the item in question. The options include filing a dispute online and sending a dispute letter to the credit bureau by postal mail. Filing a dispute online is generally faster than writing a letter, although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends sending a letter.

Receive Results

The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that each credit bureau respond to your dispute within 30 days of receiving the dispute. If the credit bureau cannot verify the validity of the disputed item within 30 days of receiving the dispute, the item must be deleted from your credit report. The credit bureau should notify you of the results within five days of the dispute being resolved.

Faster Dispute

If you are in the process of applying for a mortgage and notice an error on your credit report, you might not have time to wait 30 to 45 days for the dispute to be resolved. In this situation, ask your lender about rapid rescoring. This a procedure by which the lender refers you to a company that obtains proof of the error from the company that reported it and passes the proof along to the credit bureaus. With rapid rescoring, you can resolve a dispute within 24 to 72 hours, according to ABC Money. Rapid rescoring typically requires a fee.

Significance

Disputing errors on your credit report and having those inaccuracies erased removes these negative marks and boosts your credit score. This, in turn, helps you obtain better terms on your loans and credit cards, including lower interest rates. If a successful dispute helps get you a lower interest rate on your mortgage, you could save thousands of dollars.