Credit glossary
611 dispute
A dispute filed with a credit bureau under FCRA section 611 (15 U.S.C. 1681i), the standard route for fixing errors on your report.
When you dispute the completeness or accuracy of an item with a bureau, it must conduct a reasonable reinvestigation, generally within 30 days, and pass your dispute to the furnisher, which must investigate too. Items that are inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable must be corrected or deleted. You get the results in writing within 5 business days of completion, plus the right to ask how the item was verified.
Send a 611 dispute to each bureau that shows the error, since each bureau investigates its own file. Identify the item, say exactly what's wrong and what the correct information is, and attach documents. Keep proof of delivery. If the result doesn't fix the problem, you can follow up with a direct dispute to the furnisher under section 623.
Guides that go deeper
- How to dispute a credit report error, step by stepA step-by-step guide to disputing credit report errors with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion: online vs. mail, what to include, and how to keep proof.
- Dispute timelines: the 30-day and 45-day clocks, and the othersHow long a credit bureau has to investigate your dispute under 15 U.S.C. 1681i, when 30 days becomes 45, and the 5-day deadlines nobody mentions.
- The truth about 609 letters: what section 609 really gives youSection 609 of the FCRA gives you a copy of your credit file, not a way to delete accounts. What it requires, why template letters fail, and what works.
Sources
- 15 U.S.C. 1681i: Procedure in case of disputed accuracy, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2: Responsibilities of furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Disputing Errors on Your Credit Reports, Federal Trade Commission
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