An Account You Never Opened Is on Your Report

The letter from the lender was short. They said no to your loan. Part of the reason was your own credit. So you pull your report, and there it is. A store card you never opened.

You can fix this yourself

Fixing a mistake on your report costs nothing, and you can do it on your own. That is the CFPB reading of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You do not need to pay anyone to send a letter you can write tonight.

There is a catch. True and current bad marks stay, and the CFPB says nobody can take them off. A dispute is for mistakes. This card is a mistake.

Start with the bureau

Go first to the bureau showing the card. The card may show at Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, or more than one, so look at all three. Every one with the card gets its own letter, the FTC says.

Say in writing what is wrong and why. Add copies of papers that back you up. Mail it certified, with a return receipt. The FTC suggests that so you hold proof it arrived. A web form or a phone call works with the bureaus too.

Think a stranger opened it under your name? IdentityTheft.gov is where the CFPB points you.

Then the company that sent it

The CFPB says to fix an error, you generally contact two places. One is the bureau. The other is the company that gave it the information. Write to that company too, by certified mail.

What comes next

Now the bureau has work to do. It has to investigate, then send you the results. If the company finds its own report was wrong, it must tell all three bureaus.

Say the card is still there afterward. Your side of the story can ride along with the report. The FTC says a dispute statement can be put in your file and in reports sent out later.

Keep every letter and receipt in one place. Your business has its own file too, with Dun & Bradstreet. Read it the same way. Stuck after all that? The CFPB takes complaints about credit reports.