Credit Report Errors That Are Worth Disputing
A working list of the errors that are both common and provable, and the ones that waste the effort.
Not every problem on a credit report is worth a dispute. The ones that are share two qualities: they are specific, and they are provable.
Choosing the right errors is what makes DIY credit repair work.
Before deciding, make sure you know how to read the relevant parts of your report. If you identify a specific error, this dispute walkthrough covers the next steps.
Errors worth pursuing
Accounts that are not yours
The strongest category. Either your file has been mixed with someone else's, or an account was opened fraudulently. Both have clear processes, and the identity theft route in particular carries stronger remedies than an ordinary dispute.
The same debt reported more than once with a live balance
After a charge-off and sale, the original creditor's entry should show a zero balance and the collector's entry should show the debt. Two entries with two balances is one debt counted twice.
A wrong date of first delinquency
This determines when the item must come off. A date reported later than the actual first missed payment extends the reporting period. It is not permitted and it is often documentable from your own statements.
Incorrect balances
A paid-off account showing a balance. A settled account showing the full original amount. A balance that has grown with fees a collector is not entitled to add.
Wrong account status
Closed accounts showing open. Accounts closed by you showing as closed by the creditor. Discharged debts not showing as included in bankruptcy.
Late payments during a protected period
Payments reported late during an agreed deferment, forbearance, or payment plan.
Payments you can prove were on time
A bank record showing the payment cleared before the due date against a report showing 30 days late. One of the cleanest disputes available.
Items past the reporting period
Seven years plus 180 days from the date of first delinquency, ten years for a Chapter 7. Anything older has to go.
Hard inquiries you did not authorize
From lenders you never applied to.
Wrong personal information
Names, addresses, and employers that are not yours. Worth disputing even though it is not scored, because wrong identifying data is how other people's accounts keep matching to your file.
Errors not worth pursuing
Accurate negative information
A late payment you actually made late. A collection for a debt you actually owe. These are what the report is for, and disputing them produces verification, wasted time, and a file full of frivolous designations that makes your next real dispute harder.
A hard inquiry you authorized
It is accurate. It will age off in twelve months as a scoring factor.
Closed accounts in good standing
These help your credit history length. Leave them.
An account you simply wish were not there
Not a claim anyone can investigate.
The test
Before you dispute something, write down one sentence: "The report says X. That is wrong because Y."
If you cannot complete both halves, it is not a dispute yet. Either find the evidence that makes Y true, or leave it alone.