File any Dispute Directly with the Credit Reporting Agencies You MUST file any dispute directly with the Big Three credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union.
The FCRA contains an odd quirk.
While a furnisher has a duty under the Act to report accurate information concerning debts to consumer reporting agencies (CRA's), you cannot sue a furnisher for reporting false, misleading, or incomplete information.
Rather, in order to trigger liability under the Act, a furnisher first must receive notice of a dispute from a CRA.
This is not to say that you shouldn't also file a dispute directly with the furnisher, but you should do so in conjunction with dispute letters to the CRA's.
What To Put In A Dispute Letter A dispute letter should contain the following:

• The consumer's full legal name, including any suffix such as Jr.
  or Sr.
  
• The consumer's current address and any other address where the consumer has lived in the past two years.
  
• The consumer's Date of Birth.
  
• The consumer's social security number.
  For security reasons, you should limit this to the last four digits of the SSN # clearly identified as such.
  For example, --1234.
  
• The full name of the consumer's spouse if married.
  
• A clear and plain description of the dispute.
  The consumer should include a copy of the credit report with the disputed item circled or highlighted in order to avoid any claim of confusion as to the disputed item in question.
  
• An explanation of the dispute.
  For example, if it's a Chase credit card account and the consumer has no credit cards with Chase, the letter should state that the account does not belong to the consumer and, therefore, the consumer does not owe the particular account listed on the credit report or any other Chase credit card account.
  
• The letter should clearly and plainly request that the disputed item be deleted or removed from the consumer's credit report.
  

Supporting Documentation Most sources will advise you to include copies of any supporting documentation with your dispute letter, including the FTC.
But I think it's best to wait.
If a CRA concludes that the consumer's initial dispute is frivolous, the agency can treat as frivolous any repeat dispute based on the same information.
But the consumer may be able to avoid this trap by including additional information in a subsequent dispute letter.
So I think it's best to hold at least some documentary evidence for use in a subsequent dispute letter.
The Dispute Letter Must Come From The Consumer The FCRA is clear that the consumer must directly send the dispute letter to the CRA: "...
if the completeness or accuracy of any item of information contained in a consumer's file at a consumer reporting agency is disputed by the consumer and the consumer notifies the agency directly...
"15 U.
S.
C.
A.
§ 1681i(a).
An attorney, however, may draft a letter on behalf of the consumer and still meet the requirements of the statute.
Consider Including An Affidavit You can convert a dispute letter into an affidavit by signing it under oath and notarized.
You could also include a separate affidavit signed and notarized.
An affidavit may increase the credibility of your claim and, consequently, cause a credit reporting agency to take your dispute more seriously.
Keep Records Document everything.
Dispute letters should be sent certified mail with return receipt requested.
Keep the green card return.
Keep copies of all dispute letters.
Keep copies of all correspondence from the credit reporting agencies.
Keep copies of your credit reports.
Keep copies of your expenses.
Document any phone calls.
Start a file and keep it updated.
Be Patient Correcting errors on a credit report requires work and effort.
A CRA has 30 days to respond to a dispute letter.
Most likely, the first dispute letter most likely will not fix the problem, nor the second, nor the third, etc.
Like the woman in the 60 Minutes story, it may take years for a consumer to fix the problem on his or her own.
Start Early Most people only become aware of errors in their credit reports after being denied credit, rejected for employment, etc.
The best practice is to be proactive.
Review your credit report before it becomes an issue.
If errors exist, start the long march to fixing the errors now so that the errors won't cost you later.