 TITLE: What Is a Direct Dispute? CONTENT: How Do Disputes Impact Credit Scores?\n-------------------------------------\nIf you dispute information on your credit report with either the lender, the credit reporting company or both and it results in information being modified or removed from your credit reports, your credit scores can be impacted. Because disputes are typically made to correct negative information that appears on a credit report, your scores could increase depending on the outcome of the investigation.\nFor example, if you disputed a derogatory entry and that entry was removed once the investigation was completed, your credit scores could benefit. Or if you disputed the balance of a credit card account and the balance was changed to a lower amount, your credit scores could also improve because you will have lowered your revolving credit utilization ratio.\nNot all dispute outcomes have a big positive impact on credit scores, however. For example, if you had several collections on your credit reports and you were able to have one removed during the dispute process, you should not expect your credit scores to improve significantly because of the prevalence of remaining derogatory information. Similarly, if you dispute an open credit card account as closed and the account is updated accordingly, it may cause your utilization rate to increase, which could in turn cause your scores to dip. END