What’s Wrong With This Dispute Letter?

There are so many things wrong with this so-called dispute letter that it is sure to fail.

It was no surprise that a young woman told me she receive a total rejection from the credit bureaus after sending it.

It was worth exactly what she paid for it: $ ZERO. Actually, it’s worse than zero, because now there’s a bogus letter in her file with the credit bureaus.

Let’s look all the problems with the letter below (so you don’t make the same mistake.)

Dear Credit Bureau Representative,

I received a copy of my credit report and found the following FCRA violation:

1. The Date Opened is not the same for each bureau. Do I have a duplicate account with you?
   Problem: The credit bureaus don’t compare with one another. That’s your job, not theirs.
   
2. The Date Last Activity is not the same for each bureau.
   Problem: So what? That statement accomplishes nothing.
   
3. Incorrect Date of last payment is not the same for each bureau.
   Problem: That doesn’t mean theirs is wrong, and it’s not their concern what the other two bureaus show.
   
4. High Balance and Balance Owed are not the same. Is this a duplicate account?
   Problem: : Balances are expected to vary bureau to bureau because they don’t all receive and update informatio on the same day. It does not indicate a duplicate account. It is irrelevant.
   
5. Closed Date is only shown on TransUnion, but not on Experian and Equifax.
   Problem: In addition to everything above, not all creditors report to all three credit bureaus.
   
6. Past Due Amount Shown – How can a charge off have a past due amount?
   Problem: This is a valid issue, but asking them to explain how is not going to get it deleted. Do you want an explanation or a deletion based on erroneous information reporting?
   
7. Late Payment Date is not the same for each bureau.
   Problem: What do you want them to do, fix the late payments to match? Update the late payments? You are not helping yourself in the slightest with this.
   
   In addition to all the problems I’ve stated above, you cannot send out a catch-all dispute letter like this and expect to receive a good result.
   
   It is obvious to the credit bureaus that you are using a letter you downloaded from the Internet, and they do not take kindly or respond positively to that.
   
   Less than a year ago, I wrote 27 new dispute letters and included them in Book 2: Repair Your Credit Like the Pros DEEPER DIVE. Along with each letter is an easy-to-understand explanation.
   
   Credit is still a hot topic and dispute letters DO work, but only if they make sense. And if they sound sincere. And if you customize them a little bit, like I recommend, it will boost your success as well.
   
   Good luck and best wishes, and don’t give up! You CAN take control of your finances and improve your credit. Every month of paying on time helps improve your credit rating. And if there is anything negative on your report, it must be accurate and verifiable to remain.