Key Takeaways:
- Dispute investigations are typically completed within 30 days.
- Once completed, your dispute investigation results will be available online immediately if you submitted your dispute online, or will be mailed to you within 5 days if you submitted by mail or phone.
- Your dispute investigation report will show you whether information was removed or updated and how the information appears on your credit report following the change.
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Have you submitted a dispute to TransUnion® and received your investigation results? If so, you’re in the right place to learn more about what’s in those results and what they mean.
If you haven’t yet submitted your dispute, you can do so on the TransUnion dispute page. There you’ll learn more about how to dispute items on your credit report. Disputes are free and do not impact your credit score. Consistently monitoring your credit report and disputing items you believe to be inaccurate can help you maintain healthy credit.
How long does a credit dispute take?
A dispute investigation is typically completed within 30 days, but can take up to 45 days if additional information is required or supplied. During that time, TransUnion may reach out to your lender with the details of your dispute and any relevant supporting documents you provided.
If your lender confirms the information you’re disputing is inaccurate, TransUnion will revise or delete the information from your credit report. Generally, no changes will be made if the lender verifies that the information is accurate.
How often do credit reports update?
Information in your credit report may be updated frequently, which means that by the time we receive your dispute, items you disputed may no longer appear on your credit report or may have already changed. Your account information is updated when your lender provides new information, which usually happens once a month, or at least every 45 days. For example, if you paid down a balance recently, you may not see it updated on your credit report immediately.
How do I check the status of my credit dispute?
If you submit your dispute online, TransUnion will send you email notifications about the status of your dispute. You’ll get an email when the dispute is opened, at various stages while it’s still open and when the investigation is complete.
You can also log in to your TransUnion Service Center account to see the status of your dispute at any time. When completed, you can log in to see your investigation results along with the revised copy of your TransUnion credit report.
What's on your dispute investigation results
At the conclusion of the dispute investigation, you will receive a report of the results. If you disputed by mail or phone, please allow 5 days following the completion of the dispute investigation for mail delivery. If you submitted a dispute online, you will be notified via email and can view your dispute investigation results immediately. Here is what you can expect to see on your dispute investigation report:
Summary of actions taken by TransUnion
Here we’ll tell you what action, if any, we took as a result of your dispute. If the information is verified as accurate, we may not make any changes to your credit report. Or, if the information is found to be inaccurate, we may update or delete information from your report.
Definitions of terms
We provide a table of terms related to your account information. When you look at your investigation results, you can consult this table to help understand important terms used in connection with how your accounts appear on your credit report. Here is an example:
Balance: The balance owed as of the date the account was verified or reported |
Original Charge Off: If applicable, the amount charged off due to non-payment of the account. |
Credit Limit: The maximum amount of credit approved by the creditor on the account. |
Past Due: The amount past due as of the date the account was verified or reported. |
Date Opened: The date the account was opened |
Pay Status: The current status of the account; how you are currently paying. For accounts that have been paid and closed, sold, or transferred, it represents the last reported status of the account |
Last Payment Made: The date the creditor received the last payment on the account |
Responsibility: The type of contractual ownership of the account (individual, joint, authorized user, etc.) |
High Balance: The highest amount ever owed on an account |
Remarks: If applicable, the creditor may provide additional information here related to the account |
Maximum Delinquency: If applicable, the maximum amount past due before an account becomes a charge-off or a collection account |
Terms: The monthly payment amount or monthly minimum payment due on the account |
Rating key related to your payment history
On your investigation results, your payment history, when available, is shown in a grid below each account. You’ll see terms and numbers to reflect your payment status reported by your creditor. To understand the terms in this grid, you’ll see a rating key that corresponds to the payment history for your account.
On-time payments will show as “OK” while late payments will appear as “30”,”60”,”90”, or ”120” days past due in the month when these late payments were reported by your creditor. Other payment ratings include “Col” for collection and C/O for charge offs.
Your dispute results and how they now appear in your TransUnion credit report
For each item you disputed, you’ll see a title in a gray box, followed by a brief paragraph describing the results of the investigation. If information was removed or updated as a result of your dispute, the “Your Investigation Results” section will note that an update was made. An update can include a change to the information or the removal of the information entirely from your credit file.
Is my credit score impacted by a dispute?
Submitting a dispute does not have a direct impact on your credit score. However, whenever information is added, removed or changed on your credit report, it could have an impact on your credit score. Whether your credit score changes and by how much depends on the type of information that is altered.
Knowing the factors that impact your credit score can help you determine if your credit score may change as a result of a dispute investigation. Your credit score does not appear on your dispute investigation results.
Next steps after a credit dispute investigation
If you don’t agree with your dispute investigation results, there are several steps you can take to further manage your data:
1. Contact the lender directly
Your lender will have more information about your account than TransUnion and may be better able to assist with specific questions and concerns. Your lender’s contact information will be in your results summary and your credit report.
2. Resubmit your dispute with additional supporting documentation
If you’re able to find new or additional evidence to support your dispute, you can resubmit it through the TransUnion Service Center. You’ll be asked if you’ve disputed the item in the past 120 days. In the Additional Comments section, you can indicate that you have additional evidence. Supporting evidence can include records from relevant sources like your account statements or court documents.
3. Add a statement to your credit report
A consumer statement is an opportunity for you to shed light on information in your credit report. It’s a way for you to explain your financial situation to anyone who views it. TransUnion provides several pre-worded options, but you can also write one in your own words. Consumer statements can be 100 words or less.
4. File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The CFPB is there to help you if you’re having issues with financial products or services. They may be able to further assist you in communicating with the company or lender.
If you’re looking for more information, our Dispute page has additional education and resources to help you manage your information.
