 TITLE: Can Credit Report Disputes Lower Credit Scores? CONTENT: How to File a Dispute\n---------------------\nIf you believe information in your Experian credit report is inaccurate, you can file a dispute with Experian in the following ways:\n*   **Online**: The Experian Dispute Center allows you to submit disputes anytime, day or night, from your smartphone or computer. This is the quickest and easiest way to dispute your credit report.\n*   **Phone**: To submit a dispute by phone, call the number displayed on your Experian credit report or 888-EXPERIAN to speak with an agent. To request mail delivery of a hard-copy credit report, call 866-200-6020.\n*   **Postal mail**: You can also file a dispute without a credit report by writing to Experian at P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013. Be sure to include all of your personal information so that Experian can access your report. (Printing out a dispute form and dispute by mail instructions can speed up the process; you can also scan the completed form and submit it electronically at Experian.com\/upload.)\nAfter you've submitted a dispute, Experian will contact the data furnisher (your lender or credit card issuer) and ask them to check their records and verify the information. Depending on their response, one of three things typically happens:\n*   Incorrect information is corrected.\n*   Information that cannot be verified is updated or deleted.\n*   Information verified as accurate remains on your credit report.\nExperian will send you alerts via email whenever there is an update on your dispute. If you already have an account with Experian, you can also check dispute status in the Alerts section of your Experian account. Experian issues alerts at these steps in the dispute process:\n*   **Open**: This indicates the dispute process has begun.\n*   **Update**: The dispute investigation is finished and your credit report is being updated accordingly.\n*   **Dispute results ready**: Your credit report has been updated to reflect the dispute findings.\nBe aware that filing a dispute with Experian does not initiate a dispute with the other national credit bureaus (TransUnion and Equifax) or notify them of the results. If the information you are disputing also appears on those reports, you will need to file disputes with them separately. Lenders are required to update information changed in response to a dispute with all consumer reporting agencies to which the information was reported. For that reason, updates should be made automatically at all the credit bureaus, but it is still a good idea to check.\nWhat to Do if You Disagree With the Outcome of a Dispute\n--------------------------------------------------------\nIf you are unsatisfied with the results of a dispute investigation, you can take the following steps:\n*   **Contact the data furnisher(s).** If you have evidence that a lender, credit card issuer, collection agency or government agency has provided inaccurate information to one or more national credit bureaus, locate the contact information for that entity on your credit report or online and use it to ask them to correct their records—and to revise your credit files accordingly. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act requires that the source initiate a dispute on your behalf if you ask them to.\n*   **Add a statement of dispute to your credit report.** A statement of dispute lets you explain why you believe the information in your credit report is incomplete or inaccurate. Your statement will appear on your Experian credit report whenever it's accessed or requested by a potential lender or creditor, and the lender may ask you for more details or documentation as part of their review or application process. To add a statement of dispute, go to the Experian Dispute Center webpage, choose the disputed item in question, and select Add a Statement from the menu of dispute reasons.\n*   **Resubmit a dispute with additional information.** If you have additional evidence to substantiate your claim, you can submit a new dispute. If you're filing the dispute online, follow the steps listed above for using the Dispute Center, and use the upload link to submit your supporting documentation.\nHow Long Does Negative Information Stay on Your Credit Report?\n--------------------------------------------------------------\nNegative information can remain on your credit report for seven years or more, potentially hurting your credit score to some extent the entire time it appears, so it's in your interest to dispute inaccurate negative credit information. It's a good idea to review your credit reports from all three national credit bureaus at least once each year, and to act quickly to correct any inaccuracies you discover. Doing so can prevent misreported data from harming your credit scores, and can also let you catch unauthorized credit activity associated with credit fraud and identity theft. END