Credit Dispute Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. An AI-assisted educational review of your Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion credit report, viewing the entries highlighted for you to investigate, and preparing FCRA-informed draft letters for all three bureaus is completely free — no account required.

No. Uploaded PDFs are parsed in your browser and only the extracted text is sent to the analysis function. Your credit report text is never written to a database or stored — it is processed in memory and discarded. Results are cached only in your browser's sessionStorage so a refresh doesn't lose your work, and closing the tab clears them. We do store the email address you provide before an analysis (kept up to 7 days to enforce the daily free-use limit, then automatically deleted) and, if you ask us to email your letters or request an expert consult, the contact details you submit for that purpose. See the Privacy Policy for the full retention schedule.

No. CreditKaren is an educational tool that helps consumers exercise their existing rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It is not a law firm, credit-repair organization under CROA, lender, or financial advisor. Nothing on the site is legal advice and no specific dispute outcome is guaranteed.

Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can upload one bureau report or all three in a single session. CreditKaren's AI-assisted report review reads each report separately and produces bureau-specific FCRA-informed draft letters addressed to the correct dispute mailing address for each bureau, for you to review and edit.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) Section 611, you have the right to dispute any inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information on your credit report. File a written dispute with each bureau (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) that lists the item, identify the account, explain why it's inaccurate, and include supporting documents. A credit reporting company generally must reinvestigate and report the results to you. Outcomes and timelines vary based on the circumstances and applicable law. CreditKaren can help you draft FCRA-informed letters for all three bureaus, which you review, edit, and send yourself. Credit reporting disputes should be based on information you believe may be inaccurate, incomplete, unfamiliar, or improperly reported. Do not dispute information you know is accurate. A dispute does not guarantee a deletion, correction, score change, or other result.

Under the FCRA, a credit reporting company generally must reinvestigate a dispute and send you written results. Outcomes and timelines vary based on the circumstances and applicable law, and a dispute does not guarantee a deletion, correction, or score change.

A request under Section 609 can help a consumer request information contained in their consumer file. It is not a guaranteed verification or deletion process. Dispute timelines and outcomes may vary based on the circumstances and applicable law. Section 609 governs disclosure rights, not deletion rights, so many online descriptions of a "609 method" are misleading.

Most negative items, including late payments, charge-offs, and collections, remain on your credit report for 7 years from the date of first delinquency. Chapter 7 bankruptcies stay for 10 years. Hard inquiries remain for 2 years. Accurate negative information generally cannot be removed early through disputes, but inaccurate or unverifiable items can be removed at any time.

You can dispute information you believe is inaccurate, incomplete, unfamiliar, or improperly reported — for example an incorrect amount, a wrong date, a duplicate entry between the original creditor and a collector, or an account you do not recognize. A validation request can help a consumer request information and document questions about a debt. Requirements, timing, and possible outcomes depend on the circumstances and applicable law. Do not dispute information you know is accurate.

Consumers commonly review: (1) entries they believe may be inaccurate, incomplete, unfamiliar, or improperly reported, (2) revolving balances relative to credit limits, (3) on-time payment history going forward, (4) how many new accounts they apply for, and (5) whether closing an old account would shorten their credit history. The effect of any item varies by scoring model, lender, report data, and individual credit history.

You have the legal right under the FCRA to dispute any item you believe is inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable. However, knowingly filing false disputes about accurate information can be considered fraud. The proper approach is to dispute items you have a good-faith belief are inaccurate — and many accurate-looking items have small errors (wrong dates, balances, payment status) that are worth reviewing for accuracy.

Consumers already have the right under the FCRA to dispute information they believe is inaccurate or incomplete, at no cost. A paid provider handles the administrative work of preparing and submitting that correspondence. The Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) restricts what those organizations may charge and represent. CreditKaren is not a credit-repair organization; it is a free educational tool that produces FCRA-informed draft letters you review, edit, and decide whether to use.