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Disputing On-Line

Now it may seem like online disputing is an easier and faster way to go about correcting erroneous accounts on your credit report, but your wrong. The option to dispute online was created merely to make the credit bureaus’ jobs easier, not yours. There is very little regard to consumer disputes when they are entered online. And, as you already know, credit disputes are in no way meant to make the credit reporting agencies job easier!

Here are just some of the reasons why you should not dispute online:

1. Time- The credit reporting agencies do not have to process an online request. The dispute gets tracked automatically and a request to verify is automatically forwarded to the data furnisher through the automated system e-Oscar. When the whole process is automated, the restrictive 30 day timeframe is accomplished easier.
2. Paper Trail- With online disputes there is no paper trail to prove the details of your dispute.
3. Limited Dispute Reasons- An accurate description of the dispute is difficult to make due to the limitation of dispute reasons provided to you online.
4. “Expeditious Dispute Resolution”- The Fair Credit Reporting Act section 611a(8) changes the standard requirements and protections afforded to a consumer by the FCRA.

In the “Expeditious Dispute Resolution” section of the Fair Credit Reporting Act it specifically states:

“The agency shall not be required to comply with paragraphs 2, 6, and 7 with respect to that dispute if they delete the trade line within 3 days.”

The second paragraph requires the credit reporting agencies to forward your dispute and all related documentation you have provided to the creditor. The CRA rarely ever forwards the documentation. If a credit reporting agency deletes an item from your credit report without forwarding the dispute to the data furnisher, the data furnisher will just turn around and re-report the item in the next reporting cycle. Most likely this is because the data furnisher simply just is not aware of your dispute, therefore they may re-insert the item. There is a standard notice that is required to be sent prior to any reinsertion of a deleted item.

The sixth paragraph states that the CRA is required to provide you with written results, and the seventh states that the CRA is required to provide you with the method of verification on request from the consumer. You already know from reading the “Method of Verification” (MOV) paper that this tactic is a powerful tool in the dispute process. If expeditious dispute resolution is used then the right to utilize this tactic is taken away. So, DO NOT dispute accounts online.