You have the right to dispute inaccurate entries in your credit report. A dispute letter, often referred to as a 609 letter, is a tool that initiates this process. There’s a lot of hype around these letters, and it’s important to understand what they can and cannot do.
In this guide, we will show you how to use a 609 letter. You’ll get a template to follow and we’ll also address some of the most commonly asked questions and misunderstandings about the Section 609 letter. Let’s get started!
Key Takeaways
- You have the right to dispute records on your credit report. The credit bureau must investigate your dispute. If they cannot verify the account, they must delete it.
- A dispute letter, also called a 609 letter, will initiate your dispute. Your letter must include the information the credit bureau will need to investigate the account.
- A 609 letter template is an easy way to start the dispute process. which will guide you through the process of disputing inaccuracies on your credit report effectively.
- Watch out for the hype. Many people will try to sell you “special” 609 letters that they say will get even legitimate accounts deleted from your credit report. Don’t fall for it.
What Is a 609 Letter?
Credit report dispute letters are often called 609 letters, after Section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It’s not an accurate name – disputes are actually covered under Section 611 – but the name is so widely used that we are using it here for the sake of familiarity.
A dispute letter forces the credit bureau to verify the information in an entry on your credit report. If the information cannot be verified, it must be removed. A dispute letter cannot force a credit bureau to remove verified information, but it’s an effective way to deal with information that is illegitimate or erroneous.
Does Section 609 Work?
A credit bureau that receives a Section 609 dispute letter must verify the disputed information. They do this by contacting the creditor and requesting verification. If they can’t get it, the account will be deleted.
The credit bureau must respond within 30 days of receiving your 609 letter. Always use registered mail!
A credit bureau is not required to remove a verifiable entry. If a creditor does not have the required information on file or fails to respond, even a legitimate account could be deleted.
What Can You Dispute?
If you believe that an entry on your credit report is wrong, you can dispute that entry. The credit bureau is required to investigate your claim. If the entry is confirmed to be an error they have to remove it for free.
You can provide documents or records that support your request.
The credit bureau will also ask your creditor to investigate the complaint. If the creditor finds a mistake they will have to report it to all three credit bureaus and have them remove it.
You cannot force the removal of accurate information with a dispute letter. The credit bureau is not required to give you information that they don’t have. They are not required to provide an original signed contract or any similar evidence.
👉 That’s it. There are no magic 11 words that need to be included within the Section 609 credit dispute letter to make this happen, other than the relevant information the credit agency needs to look up your account and identify the report in question. Once the credit agencies receive a dispute letter from you, they will attempt to verify the disputed record, and if they cannot, they will delete it.
So, do dispute letters work?
They definitely can!
7 Most Common Errors Found In Credit Reports
34% of all credit reports contain at least one error, most of them being related to their personal information (29%) and their account information (11%).
Common Errors Found On Your Credit Report:
- Account Number
- Creditor Name
- Date Account Was Opened
- Date Account Was Charged Off
- Payment History
- Names On Account
- Balance
☝️ When you review your credit report, be sure to check every single detail very carefully. If anything is wrong, that can be grounds for you to dispute the record and have it removed.
Your letter must specify the exact reason for your dispute.
Free Section 609 Credit Dispute Letter
Click on the download button below to get your copy of our free Section 609 letter template. You will get the letter in PDF format. You may change it or use it exactly as it is written.
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If you write one that succeeds, please email it to us. We’d love to hear what worked for you!
Here’s a sample 609 credit dispute letter using our template:
⚠️ Please Read Before Using This Template!
This template must be customized to fit your circumstances. You will see instructions for the information that you will need to insert. These instructions are indicated by ____ text.
Be sure that you fill in all required information and delete the ____ text before you send the letter.
Your letter will be less effective if our instructions are still visible!
What To Put In Your Dispute Letter
- The Date
- Your Full Name
- Address (street, city, state, zip)
- Date of Birth
- Credit Bureau Contact Information
- Disputed Account Name
- Disputed Account Number
- Description of Error (be brief)
- Any Supporting Documentation (payment records, bank statements, court documents, etc.)
- Tell the credit bureau precisely what you want them to do (investigate, remove the record, etc.)
- Include a copy of your credit report with the error identified.
- Include a copy of your driver’s license or other government-issued ID.
- Include a copy of a utility bill or a bill with your name and address to serve as a second form of ID and to confirm your address.
The credit bureaus keep track of your disputes. Once you dispute the account, it is much harder to dispute it again if your efforts fail. If you’re going to do it, you need to do it right!
Steps To Submitting A Dispute Letter
This is how you dispute a credit report entry.
- Obtain a copy of your credit report for free by going to Annualcreditreport.com. Find the error you are going to dispute in your credit report and highlight or circle it.
- Make a copy of your driver’s license and a utility bill or some other document with your address on it to be included in your dispute as a secondary form of ID.
- Collect any supporting documentation to dispute your credit report, such as banking statements, or letters from a creditor. Write a credit report dispute letter to the credit reporting agency.
- Write the dispute letter or use a template like the one we provided.
- Send the letter with your credit report, identification, and supporting documents to the credit bureau via certified mail with return receipt requested and keep all documentation. The credit agency will usually respond in 30 days unless you provide additional information during the 30-day process, in which case they may take 45 days to respond.
- They will either respond that the furnisher was able to verify the disputed records or that they have deleted the disputed records. If they do not delete the records, they will include instructions on how to go about disputing their findings.
That’s the process. If you hire a credit repair company, they will do exactly the same thing. Again, there are no magic tricks.
It is possible to file a dispute by phone or online. The National Consumer Law Center recommends using certified mail, and we agree. Certified mail gives you clear evidence that you sent your dispute on a specific day.
Where to Send Your 609 Credit Dispute Letter
All three credit bureaus have a process where you can file your credit dispute by mail. Here’s where to send your 609 credit dispute letter to all three credit bureaus:
Equifax Mailing Address:
PO Box 7404256
Atlanta, GA 30374-0256
TransUnion Mailing Address:
PO Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022-2000
Experian Mailing Address:
PO Box 9701
Allen, TX 75013
❗️ Please be aware that with all disputes, there’s a chance for a temporary credit decrease. Please see Mark’s article on how Equifax lowered his credit score by 72 points when he sent his dispute letters. (It quickly increased by 100 points)
What Happens to Your Dispute Letter
Credit bureaus receive thousands of disputes every day. Yours will be one of them.
Each letter is scanned by an automated system called e-OSCAR (Online System for Complete and Accurate Reporting). The system generates a code for the type of dispute and sends it to whoever furnished the original information. This is usually the creditor or the collection agency that holds the debt.
If the creditor verifies the information, the entry will remain on your credit report. If the creditor fails to verify within the allotted time, the account will be removed.
That’s why a long and complicated letter won’t help you. It could even hurt you: if your letter is too complex the system might fail to read it correctly and generate the wrong code.
E-Oscar doesn’t care if you cite legal precedents, threaten to complain to the CFPB, or demand a signed contract establishing your debt. All it will do is generate a dispute code and forward the dispute to the information provider.
Where To File A Complaint Against A Credit Reporting Agency
Sometimes, despite all of your best efforts, the credit agency will not remove an entry from your credit record. The investigation process may be automated and may just check the same computer record that contained the original error.
The CFPB or Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been charged with overseeing the credit reporting agencies since 2012. CFPB’s complaint page can be found online with multiple resources to possibly help you resolve your issue before filing a complaint as a last recourse.
👉 Remember that a credit bureau has no obligation to remove a legitimate entry form your credit report. If you actually owe the debt and it has been accurately reported there is no way to force a credit bureau to remove it.
The CFPB has an extensive database full of consumer resources that include insight into credit cards, auto loans, and home mortgages, to name a few. They also have a great Know Your Rights brochure that you should be sure and check out.
Some Businesses Associated With The 609 Letter Strategy
There are several commercial enterprises that are associated with the term “609 letter”. Most of these will try to sell you on their secret ‘hack’ or claim to have the only letter template that works.
👉 Don’t be fooled! A template can make things easier, but there is no magic formula. The credit bureau will investigate the same way no matter how your dispute is phrased.
You’ll find many people online who will sell you a credit dispute letter, but there’s no reason to spend money. You can do it yourself.
Credit Secrets
The book Credit Secrets is known in the credit repair world for its thorough explanation and examples of credit dispute letters. If you do any research on the internet for Section 609 Credit Report Dispute Letters, you will probably come across this book.
It’s a nice book of information with a lot of different sample 609 letters and credit repair strategies… But, they lead you to believe that you have to use their specifically worded dispute letters when, in reality, you do not. The book has a lot to offer, and you can read more about it in our Credit Secrets Review.
Smart Money Secrets
Here’s a bit of confusing credit repair lore… What is the difference between the Credit Secrets and Smart Money Secrets books? Eleven words! Supposedly, Scott and Allison Hilton wrote Credit Secrets, and then they met a credit repair insider named Jay.
Jay explained to them that he had discovered 11 words that needed to be included in your credit dispute letters that would make the creditors and credit agencies cower at reading your letter. The book is pretty much identical to Credit Secrets book, plus the 11 allegedly magic words.
Again, both books are a useful resource once you get past the hype, but we also have provided you with a free sample template section 609 credit dispute letter pdf here.
609 Credit Repair
You have to respect good marketing, and 609 Credit Repair smartly added a 609 in front of their chosen industry and made it their name. Anyone looking for a Section 609 Credit Repair Letter is going to find 609 Credit Repair services. Their website tries to play off of their name but don’t be confused. This is a credit repair company.
The problem is as we look at 609 Credit Repair reviews, we see a lot of negative comments and reviews from past customers. This is fairly typical in the credit repair industry, but some of the claims against this company are alarming. Be sure to check around before deciding on a credit repair company, we recommend reading our best credit repair companies review to help in your decision.
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