A dispute letter is your method of challenging the accuracy or validity of a bad credit mark on your report. In your letter you need to include the reason for your dispute and the mark that you are disputing.

Common reasons for a dispute are; account is not mine, account paid in full, item is out of date and more. When the credit bureaus receive your dispute and deem it valid they will investigate the dispute.

During this investigation the collection agency or lender is contacted and the account is verified and the dates and amounts. If the account can not be verified then it will be removed from your credit report.

Frequently investigations result in bad credit marks being removed from your credit. This is often because businesses do not want to spend the extra money and time validating disputed debts.

There are rumors that credit bureaus do not check public records to verify debt. This means that bad credit marks such as a judgment or foreclosure are often removed through a dispute.

A credit repair service can also be hired to dispute bad credit marks on your behalf. This can be a tremendous benefit if you are disputing multiple marks.

Often dispute letters will result in a return letter from the bureaus requesting more information about the dispute. In addition each bureau needs to be disputed separately.

Thus organizing all your disputes with each credit bureau can be a task itself. Many services can use advanced dispute techniques in case a bad credit item is verified. The techniques include; escalated dispute information requests, debt validation, and creditor direct intervention.

Many services will employ attorneys this will enable you to go to court if it is necessary. In addition you may be a victim of illegal debt collection practices and may be able to file a lawsuit against a collection agency.

Credit repair is your responsibility. Unfortunately it is very common for inaccurate information to be reported on your credit report. It is estimated that 1 in every 4 Americans have inaccurate items on their report.

In sum, dispute any inaccurate or unverifiable bad credit marks on your report. You do not have to wait 7 years for a mark to be removed from your credit.