How To Dispute Credit Collections

 

If you send a dispute to a credit bureau (Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion), they generally have 30 days from the date they receive your request to investigate and respond under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Here’s the breakdown:

• Day 0 → They receive your dispute (keep proof of delivery, like certified mail receipt).
• Day 1–5 → They notify the lender/creditor that reported the information.
• Day 6–30 → Investigation period — they verify or remove the item.
• By Day 30 → They must send you the results in writing. If the investigation shows the information is inaccurate, they must correct or delete it.
• Possible 45 days → If you send additional relevant information during the investigation, they can extend the deadline to 45 days.

If they don’t respond within 30 days, you can:

1. Send a follow-up “failure to respond” letter demanding deletion of the disputed item.
2. File a complaint with the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau).
3. Consider sending a certified demand letter stating they are in violation of the FCRA.

 I can write you a template letter for when a credit bureau fails to respond in 30 days that cites the exact FCRA section.

Here’s a 30-day no-response credit bureau letter you can send if they failed to reply on time.
It’s written to be direct, cite the FCRA, and demand deletion.

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[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State, ZIP]
[Date]

[Credit Bureau Name]
[Credit Bureau Address]

Re: Failure to Respond Within 30 Days – FCRA Violation
Dispute Reference: [Insert account number or description of disputed item]

To Whom It May Concern,

On [date dispute was sent], you received my written dispute concerning inaccurate information on my credit report, as allowed under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. § 1681i).

Under the FCRA, you are required to complete your investigation and provide the results to me within 30 days of receiving my dispute. That deadline has now passed, and I have not received a written response or results of any investigation.

Because you failed to respond within the legally required timeframe, you are now in violation of federal law. Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(5)(A), any disputed information that cannot be verified must be deleted from my credit file immediately.

Accordingly, I demand that you:

1. Delete the disputed item(s) from my credit file.
2. Send me an updated copy of my credit report reflecting the deletion.

Failure to comply will leave me no choice but to file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), my State Attorney General, and consider legal action for willful noncompliance under 15 U.S.C. § 1681n.

This letter serves as my final attempt to resolve this matter amicably.

Sincerely,
[Your Signature]
[Your Printed Name]

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