If one credit bureau has removed an inaccuracy in your credit report, the other two bureaus will not remove it automatically. You’ll have to contact each bureau and request the change separately.
In this post, we’ll talk more about credit disputes. We’ll share what type of inaccuracies can be removed, how to remove them, what happens once a credit bureau removes an inaccuracy, and the best credit repair specialist to help you maintain strong credit.
Credit Bureaus: The Basics
There are three major credit bureaus in the United States: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. These agencies create, maintain, and provide credit reports to creditors and other authorized parties. Credit reports contain information about your credit history, including:
- Loans
- Credit cards
- Payment history
Lenders and creditors report your financial activities to these agencies. This data, in turn, makes up your credit profile and ultimately impacts your ability to secure future loans and credit.
What Are Credit Report Inaccuracies?
Sometimes, errors occur when your financial data is collected and compiled for your credit reports. These inaccuracies are incredibly frustrating for consumers as they can damage their credit score and financial reputation.
Some of the most common inaccuracies found in credit reports include:
- Incorrect personal information: These include mistakes in your name, address, or other personal details. Although these errors may seem minor, they can lead to confusion, difficulty in verifying your identity, and even potential credit application rejections.
- Accounts that don’t belong to you: A more serious type of inaccuracy is the inclusion of accounts that you never opened or authorized. Such accounts can be signs of identity theft or incorrect reporting by creditors.
- Inaccurate payment histories: Your payment history significantly impacts your credit score. If a credit report shows inaccurate information about late or missed payments, it can negatively affect your creditworthiness and borrowing potential.
These inaccuracies can mean you receive higher interest rates on loans, decreased credit limits, or even denial for credit applications.
This is where a credit repair specialist can help you out. These professionals are well-versed in the complexities of the credit reporting system, and they can help identify inaccuracies, gather the necessary evidence, and navigate the dispute process with the credit bureaus.
What Is a Credit Dispute?
A credit dispute is a formal process wherein consumers challenge the accuracy of information on their credit reports. In other words, it’s a request to correct errors or inaccuracies.
Once you file a dispute, the credit bureaus have an obligation to investigate and resolve disputes within a reasonable time frame (typically thirty days). During this time, they will reach out to the lender or creditor in question. If the data provider verifies the inaccuracy, the bureau must correct it on your report.
What Happens When One Credit Bureau Removes an Inaccuracy?
If one credit bureau removes an inaccuracy, do the others have to follow suit? The short answer is no–each credit bureau operates independently and maintains its own database of information. This means the correction made by one bureau does not automatically influence the others.
So, why does this happen? The primary reason is that data providers (i.e., lenders and creditors) are not obligated to report to all three credit bureaus. They may report to only one or a combination of the bureaus. Additionally, the credit bureaus do not share information with one another or collaborate on disputes.
So, if you find an error in your credit report and one bureau corrects it, check your reports from the other two bureaus to see if they also contain the same inaccuracy. If they do, you’ll need to initiate separate disputes with each of them.
For more helpful information, read our posts on how to get hard inquiries removed and how to remove paid collections from a credit report!