Question regarding the rules for disputes

[Anonymous]

Ill definitely follow up. They’re at 39 days now and haven’t even made the first step, so even if they came back today and said it was valid it wouldn’t matter. Limit us 30 days, period.

[Anonymous]

You might want to try the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  I have had some success with filing complaints with them against lazy bureuas like Equifax.  They are horrible on the phone and with responding even with certified/return receipt. My understanding is that businesses risk large fines for violations, and the CFPB might be the one imposing those fines.  Go to the website and file your complaint, include all docs. They are required to respond. That should get them moving. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Thank you - there is a $1000 penalty per unresponded dispute that is provided for in the law. Wonder how long they have to ignore my follow up before that’s payable...

[RobertEG]

The FCRA does not require that the consumer receive a response within 30 days.

 FCRA 611(a) requires that the CRA conclude their reinvestigation within 30-days of receipt.  They then have an additional 5 business days after conclusion of the period for reinvestigation to send the Notice of Results of Reinvestigation to the consumer. 

That is because the furnisher has up to the full period for reinvestigation (normally 30 days) to send verification or correction back to the CRA, thus requiring a few days for the CRA to process.

That can be up to an additional 8 days if there is an intervening weekend and holiday.

Add to that mailing time, and it can easily be over 40 days from filing before the consumer receives the Notice of Results.

Additionally, while correction of deletion of the disputed item of information is required if the CRA does not verify, any such deletion is not absolute.  Even if the CRA cannot complete its reinvestigation and provide verification within the statutory periods, they can, if and when they do have adequate basis for verification, such as receiving a late response from the furnisher, they can reinsert the deleted information based on the verification.

Thus, any deletion might be overcome at any later period.

I would recommend waiting at least 45 days from filing of the dispute before taking any action, such as filing a complaint with the CFPB.

[Anonymous]

Thank you Robert - it just seems to me that they’ve completely ignored this, as the TL on my reports doesn’t even indicate that it is in dispute. But your advice is solid as always, and an additional six days of waiting is easy enough.

[KJinNC]

For good and bad, Equifax is like an alternate reality for me. And I will say honestly, even the good stuff that Equifax has that the other two do not, in my case, is wrong. They still show two accounts that I closed in 2012 as active, for example.

Anyway, good luck!