Federal credit laws state that any item on a credit report
can be disputed to the credit bureaus.
The beauty of this is that the laws also state that any dispute must be
invested, and the burden of proof lies with the bureaus—not the individual.
In addition, the credit bureaus have 30 days from the time
they receive the dispute to investigate it.
After 30 days, if they cannot confirm the dispute with the lending
company, then they must remove the record from the credit report. All of this is much to the advantage to the
consumer.
When the credit bureaus investigate a disputed item, they
typically contact the lender either by phone or with some type of message. Well, let’s consider that lenders are
constantly sending data to the bureaus, as well as being asked for information
concerning disputes. It is easy to see
that not all disputes receive a reply.
In fact, some lending companies are pretty good and not answering
disputes. This is another plus for a
person trying to erase negative information
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the law says that
anything can be disputed—even if it is accurate. So, if you have negative marks that are true,
they can still be disputed and must be investigated by the bureaus. This includes open lines of credit, inquiries,
and even bankruptcies.