Credit Report Disputes Forum

[FDRSnowball]

I also posted this same question in the Financial Aid forum. Sorry if it is against TLS etiquette (sp?) to post the same thing in two different threads. I was recently denied for a gradPLUS loan and I am kind of freaking out about it. I really need to get approved in order to afford my first year. I know I can count on the great minds at TLS to help me out. Any advice is appreciated!!

I want to dispute several items on my credit report. What is the recommended way to go about doing this? I recently accessed all three of my credit reports and each reporting company offers an online dispute option. Is this the preferred method? I think it might be quicker and easier if I contact the collection companies directly and dispute the charges over the phone. Has anyone tried this and had any success? Does anyone have any other advice for disputing collections accounts?

Also, I would obviously like to get this done as soon as possible so I can begin an appeal for my gradPLUS loan. If anyone has any advice on how to expedite this process it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[leobowski]

Are these legitimate disputes? Settling with the collection companies (and/or getting on a payment plan) may be the easiest way to get your grad plus loans. You can dispute the adverse report with the credit reporting companies, or you can dispute the debt (demand proof of the underlying debt which has been assigned) with the collection companies.

If you're just trying to stir up trouble w/ the collection companies, disputes aren't going to do a lot of good though. Good luck.

[annet]

I also posted this same question in the Financial Aid forum. Sorry if it is against TLS etiquette (sp?) to post the same thing in two different threads. I was recently denied for a gradPLUS loan and I am kind of freaking out about it. I really need to get approved in order to afford my first year. I know I can count on the great minds at TLS to help me out. Any advice is appreciated!!

I want to dispute several items on my credit report. What is the recommended way to go about doing this? I recently accessed all three of my credit reports and each reporting company offers an online dispute option. Is this the preferred method? I think it might be quicker and easier if I contact the collection companies directly and dispute the charges over the phone. Has anyone tried this and had any success? Does anyone have any other advice for disputing collections accounts?

Also, I would obviously like to get this done as soon as possible so I can begin an appeal for my gradPLUS loan. If anyone has any advice on how to expedite this process it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I don't know about legitimate disputes, but I've helped friends through this process and the key when closing out a collections account is to get everything faxed to you in writing immediately. You cannot count on the collection agency reporting anything to the credit bureaus. It's up to you to ensure that the closed account from collections is listed correctly on your reports ASAP. Depending on the original creditor you can also send them the collections documents and ask them for something in writing that says you're clear with them going forward, too.

I believe that once an account has gone to collections the only thing that happens when you close it out is that the item changes to "Paid" on your report. I don't think it matters if you negotiate or how much of the original bill you actually pay off (as opposed to negotiating directing with a creditor - I think credit card companies especially will report different settlements different ways).