The Credit Bureaus Have 45 Days to Investigate Your Dispute – What? I Thought it Was 30 Days!
Posted in Finance on 02/10/2010 07:30 am by
Mike Geraghty asked:
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the credit bureaus have 30 days to complete their investigation if a consumer disputes an entry/item on their credit report. However, during that 30-day time period, if the consumer sends in other documentation relating to or in support of the dispute, the credit bureaus automatically get a 15-day extension to complete the investigation. This increases the allowable investigation time to 45 days from 30.
An important provision of the FCRA granted in 2003 is that consumers are entitled to one free credit report a year. This could be a sneaky little trap though. If they take advantage of this free credit report, and file a dispute based on this free report, the credit bureau has an extra 15 days to respond. However that does not mean that the bureaus continue to get additional 15 days extensions if the consumer again sends in more related documentation to support the dispute… The allowable investigation time is 45 days no matter what other documentation is sent in.
I have also discovered that the credit bureaus claim that they are allowed an additional 15 days to investigate if the consumer calls in merely to check on the status of their dispute. This is false…Technically, the bureaus do not get the extra 15 days simply because you called for status. The best thing to do just to be on the safe side is to wait out the investigation even though you may feel anxious and want to check up on the dispute for the status…Do not give them any reason to claim an additional 15 days. It’s been my experience that most disputes conclude in 2 to 3 weeks.
If you are ready to begin a credit dispute, and want to go about the process in the correct manner, the first step is to receive a free copy of your credit report ALONG with your credit scores.
Ernest
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the credit bureaus have 30 days to complete their investigation if a consumer disputes an entry/item on their credit report. However, during that 30-day time period, if the consumer sends in other documentation relating to or in support of the dispute, the credit bureaus automatically get a 15-day extension to complete the investigation. This increases the allowable investigation time to 45 days from 30.
An important provision of the FCRA granted in 2003 is that consumers are entitled to one free credit report a year. This could be a sneaky little trap though. If they take advantage of this free credit report, and file a dispute based on this free report, the credit bureau has an extra 15 days to respond. However that does not mean that the bureaus continue to get additional 15 days extensions if the consumer again sends in more related documentation to support the dispute… The allowable investigation time is 45 days no matter what other documentation is sent in.
I have also discovered that the credit bureaus claim that they are allowed an additional 15 days to investigate if the consumer calls in merely to check on the status of their dispute. This is false…Technically, the bureaus do not get the extra 15 days simply because you called for status. The best thing to do just to be on the safe side is to wait out the investigation even though you may feel anxious and want to check up on the dispute for the status…Do not give them any reason to claim an additional 15 days. It’s been my experience that most disputes conclude in 2 to 3 weeks.
If you are ready to begin a credit dispute, and want to go about the process in the correct manner, the first step is to receive a free copy of your credit report ALONG with your credit scores.
Ernest
