Texas Guide: Credit Report Disputes

If you have inaccurate information on your credit report, in most cases, you have to dispute the information through Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion (the CRAs) before you can file a claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  For Texas residents, the process is:

1. Login to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion and get a current version of the information and to ensure it is still being reported inaccurately.  While some third-party sites also provide credit information, it is best to go to the source for this process.
2. While it is possible to dispute over the phone, providing supporting documentation is important so it is better to do the dispute through certified mail or online.
3. A dispute template can be found on the Federal Trade Commission website. We can assist with drafting the dispute free of charge.
4. After drafting the dispute letter and gathering the supporting documents, the dispute can be mailed to:

Equifax Information Services LLC P.O. Box 740256 Atlanta, GA 30348

Experian’s National Consumer Assistance Center at P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion Consumer Solutions P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19016-2000

5. Be sure to save the green certified mail cards when they come back to ensure proof of delivery.
6. After a few weeks, the CRAs should contact the furnisher, conduct their reinvestigation of the information, and mail you the results.
7. If the information is still inaccurate (sometimes the results can be hard to read), you then have standing to bring an FCRA claim in court.
8. FCRA claims can be brought in the state civil courts of Texas or in the Texas federal courts. Most of the time, even if the claim is filed in Texas state court, it will be removed to federal court since federal law is involved.
9. You may be able to recover economic damages, like being denied credit, non-economic damages like loss of sleep/headaches, and statutory damages. Also, you can be awarded a reasonable attorney’s fee which allows us to represent you through this whole process without any out of pocket costs.  We only get paid if we recover money for you.

To start this process with free help from us, contact our office today.