Process

• The dispute process involves notifying the credit bureaus about the mistakes and asking them for an investigation. The FTC explains that the FCRA allows them 30 days to complete this process. Each bureau may have different information, so you must write individual letters citing the mistakes on each separate report. Provide as much detail as possible, including documents such as statements or receipts that back up your claim, and send everything through certified mail. Ask for proof of delivery to ensure each bureau receives your correspondence.
  
  

Results

• The credit bureaus all must investigate the allegations in your letters unless you are making obviously frivolous claims. They are required to verify the questionable data in their files with the original lenders. The Divorcenet legal information website explains that Equifax, Experian and TransUnion sometimes erase disputed information without investigating if your letters arrive at a busy time. Otherwise, the lenders may ignore the verification requests, which also results in erasure. As a result, your reports look better to creditors, insurers, and anyone else who reviews them, and your credit score goes up.
  
  

Odds

• The odds are good you can improve your credit reports through the dispute process, because a high percentage of credit bureau records have disputable mistakes. Zogby International, a polling firm, found in a 2007 survey that there are mistakes in 37 percent of the credit reports reviewed by consumers. Those reports can be improved if the errors are in negative entries, such as delinquent or charged off accounts. Late payments, charge-offs, collection accounts and similar entries are among the most harmful items to credit scores, according to the MyFICO website.
  
  

Warning

• You should refrain from disputing accurate items just to see whether you can get them removed. The FCRA excuses Equifax, Experian and TransUnion from dealing with blatantly false disputes. The bureaus ignore any legitimate claims in your letters if they also are full of frivolous challenges. Some credit repair companies promise to eliminate everything bad on your credit reports, but the FTC warns that they are limited to using the same methods you can use yourself. Such firms may dispute everything, but, without verification, the bureaus reject those complaints, and the negative data stays in your reports.