We've been receiving a lot of inquiries recently due to Experian's new response to disputes.
They have been replying with a letter that is worded in a legally threatening manner implying that disputing inaccuracies on your credit report or using a credit repair service is illegal and that the "authorities" may be involved.
Let me assure you this is a bluff. First, Experian refuses to let consumers purchase their FICO scores. Now they don't want to investigate inaccuracies on your credit report. The reason? People buy scores, not credit reports. When you see your score you're more inclined to dispute. That's their first strategy to stop your disputes. The letter is their second strategy. Its a scare tactic they hope will keep you from disputing again.
It is your right to dispute inaccuracies according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Furthermore, it is LEGAL to hire a credit repair service to dispute for you. The Credit Repair Organizations Act was implemented to protect you from credit repair scams. If credit repair was illegal, the government wouldn't have created an Act to dictate the rules a credit repair service must adhere to.
Experian has also started to refuse dispute letters at the PO Box in Allen TX. They only want disputes electronically.
This creates a number of problems. A consumer has 175 characters to explain why the trade line is in dispute. If you need to put a police report number and FTC filing confirmation number in the event of theft/fraud you are out of luck. If you have contact information about medical collection (such as Motor vehicle or Comp with attorney) that was sent in error, again your out of luck. Bottom line, consumers rights are violated with a short sighted money saving solution.
Yes, by refusing mail for the short term it will dramatically reduce disputes but in the long term it will lead to yet another mess.
If you go to the Experian website, the Cosa Mesa and Schaumburg addresses have red lettering “Consumer Disputes WILL NOT be accepted at this address”.
SO much for fair and accurate reporting…..