What Time Is Required to Get a Problem Fixed on a Credit Score Report?

It might take several months before you see a change in your credit report after winning a dispute. In the most unusual dispute claims, fixing a problem can take years. You may be able speed up this process if you agree to pay a fee, because a lower credit score can mean thousands more in interest charges.

Preparing a Dispute

Most disputes take the consumer about four hours to prepare. You will need to pull your own credit report, gather documents to prove a claim, write a letter to the bureaus identifying the disputed item and mailing off the package, according to Bankrate.com. Complex disputes, such as proving that a bankruptcy case does not belong to you, could take far longer to prepare.

Credit Report Changes

Winning a dispute case does not automatically update your credit report. The credit bureaus have millions of reports to update, so they tend to do it all at once, which means it can take up 90 days to process a new batch of data and insert it into reports. However, this process might take as little as a month or less---it is hard to predict when the bureaus will update their databases, according to Bills.com.

Shortcut

Rapid re-score companies offer a shortcut to change a credit report, because they have a special agreement with the credit bureaus that allows them to update reports themselves. You can see a correction within 72 hours using a rapid re-score company, but you can only change falsely reported data and only when you already won your dispute. Also, you must ask a lender for this service, because rapid re-score companies do not deal with individuals. Rapid re-score companies rarely do anything beyond confirming the case with the creditor. In 2011, rapid re-score companies charged $30 to $50 to correct each dispute.

Considerations

Always assume that your dispute could require litigation to force the bureaus to correct data on your report, suggests Anne Kadet of Smart Money. When you submit a dispute, the bureaus simply ask the creditor to report the questioned data again. If the creditor has wrong data, the normal dispute process may not work, because it will keep reporting the wrong data. Sometimes, dealing with the creditor directly is a faster, more effective option. In any case, document all interactions as soon as they happen and try to solve the case without involving lawyers unless it is your only option.