Will disputing 6 year old info and having it come off report increase score by 40 pts.?

[Anonymous]

I have about 3 things that are incorrect on my CR that are roughly 6 years old.  I need a credit score of 720 to get a better interest rate on a home mortgage.  Should I dispute them and have them fall off?  Will it make a 40 pt. difference in my score? Or are they so old that they are probably not going to effect my score much? Thanks for any advice or info!

[atbyrd]

Can't be sure how much it will help your score but it definitely will. If you are not planning on applying for the mortgage in the next 30 days then I would suggest you send a letter to the bearueas requesting verification of debt. If you do plan on applying in the next 30 days, it may be a problem. An open dispute can be a disqualifier for some lenders.

[llecs]

What's wrong with the reporting?

What type of accounts are they (e.g. old CCs, old loans, collection agencies, liens?)?

[Anonymous]

They are credit cards that are only on my Experian and not Equifax and Transunion.  I don't remember having these accounts that were both opened in 1994 and closed in '06 but apparently had late payments in '06.  This is the first time I have looked at my credit report ever and I not only need to try to increase my score, but I also need to know if I do dispute them and they turn out to be mine, will they go on the other two reports then (Equifax and Transunion)?  Cause those are my two highest and I need to keep them that way

[llecs]

How severe are the lates? Are there any negative comments (like charge-off)?

The account is 18 years old. If I had that I wouldn't touch it at all out of fear they'd delete. If this is your oldest CC and/or your AAoA is younger than 18 years old (based on the age of this CC), then removing it could actually hurt your EX FICO. If closed and paid, they likely won't add it to the other two, but that would probably be a good thing depending on your length of credit history. I personally wouldn't touch it, especially knowing that all of the lates will be gone within a year on their own anyway.

[RobertEG]

+1

In order to even dispute, the consumer must identity a specfic inaccuracy in reporting.  A general dispute that does not identify a specific inaccuracy can be dismissed without investigation/reinvestigation.  So you need more than just a general "dispute."

If you do identify an asserted inaccuracy, the creditor need only state that they have investigated and found it to be accurate.  They do not have to provide any proof in support of their verification of accuracy.  Since they reported it, they presumably consider it accurate, and if review of their account records does not show an identified inaccuracy, then verification will most likely result.

During the dispute process, the account will be flagged as under dispute, thus removing certain information from scoring until the dispute is resolved.  Thus, your score will not be accurate until the dispute flag is removed.  Even upon conclusion of a dispute, the CRAs are notorious for not immediately removing the pending dispute flag.  It could lead to a whole lot of hassle.

Unless you have a supportable dispute, I would leave it be.