How and When to Talk to a Credit Bureau

February 10, 2021 nacfu.org 0 Comment

How and When to Talk to a Credit Bureau

Your credit score can have a huge impact on your lifeâfor better or worse. In many ways, the three major credit bureaus are the keepers of your credit score. Theyâre responsible for maintaining credit reports, which means you may need to contact them about the information included on yours. While this may seem daunting, it’s really not complicated.

Read on to learn about when to contact a credit bureau and how to do it. Contact information and tips have been provided for each of the three credit bureausâExperian, Equifax and TransUnionâto make it as simple as possible.

When to Contact a Credit Bureau

Anytime you notice inaccuracies on your credit report, you should immediately contact the credit bureau. This can include misspelled names, incorrect address information, unreported salary changes or erroneous employment information.

Here are some other reasons why you might need to contact a credit bureau:

There are credit cards, collections missed payments or anything else on your report that you don’t recognize.
You’re in credit disputes with your credit card issuer or financial institution. You can address this with the credit bureaus, which are required to investigate.

For help talking to the credit bureaus and starting a credit repair plan, you can work with a professional credit repair agency. They offer credit monitoring, credit repair services and text alerts so you don’t miss a thing.

Get Credit Repair Help

You want to get a hard inquiry removed from your history, especially if it’s an unauthorized inquiry.
An account is missing from your report.
You want to remove inaccurate or unfair collection accounts from your report. Keep in mind that if you can’t dispute them successfully, these accounts can stay on your account for a number of years.
You want to request a free annual credit report.
You want to put a temporary freeze or lock on your credit file.
You notice any sign of fraud on your credit report.

Information to Gather before You Call

You want to have the right information on hand when you call a credit bureau. Prepare yourself by collecting the following information in advance, just in case:

Your name, address, Social Security number and date of birth
A copy of your annual credit report
Evidence of the inaccuracies or errors, if relevant
Personal financial information, such as your mortgage information, depending on the reported issue
Any other supporting documentation

Credit Bureau Contact Information

Because there are so many potential reasons to contact a credit bureauâgeneral inquiries, disputes and credit freezes, for exampleâthere are many different phone numbers and online contact forms to wade through. If you call the wrong number, you may simply be told they cannot help you and directed to call a different number, wasting precious time and energy.

To help you avoid that frustration, weâve gathered several ways you can contact the credit bureaus for common inquiries here.

Equifax Phone Numbers

Reason to Contact	Phone Number	Availability
General inquiries	866-640-2273
Service cancellation	866-243-8181	8 a.m. to 3 a.m. (ET) 7 days a week
Request a copy of your credit report	866-349-5191	8 a.m. to midnight (ET) 7 days a week
Fraud alert	800-525-6285	8 a.m. to midnight (ET) 7 days a week
Credit dispute	866-349-5191	8 a.m. to midnight (ET) 7 days a week
Credit freeze	888-298-0045	8 a.m. to midnight (ET) 7 days a week
2017 data breach	888-548-7878	8 a.m. to midnight (ET) 7 days a week
Opt out of mailing lists	888-567-8688

If you donât like talking on the phone, Equifax also offers live chat support. You can chat with a member of their customer support team between 8 a.m. and midnight (ET), Monday through Friday.

TransUnion Phone Numbers

Reason to Contact	Phone Number	Availability
General inquiries	833-395-6938	8 a.m. to 11 p.m. (ET) MondayâFriday
Credit dispute	833-395-6941	8 a.m to 11:00 p.m. (ET) MondayâFriday
Credit freeze	888-909-8872	8 a.m. to 11 p.m. (ET)
Fraud alert	800-680-7289	8 a.m.to 11 p.m. (ET)
Free annual report	877-322-8228
Havenât received your report	800-888-4213 800-916-8800 (to speak to a representative)
Manage your subscription	833-806-1626	8 a.m. to 9 p.m. (ET) MondayâFriday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET) SaturdayâSunday
Technical support	833-806-1626	8 a.m. to 9 pm. (ET) MondayâFriday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET) SaturdayâSunday

Experian Phone Numbers

Reason to Contact	Phone Number	Availability
Experian membership	479-343-6239	6 a.m. to 8 p.m. (PT) MondayâFriday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (PT) SaturdayâSunday
Free credit report	888-397-3742
Credit dispute	866-200-6020
Fraud alert	888-397-3742
Credit freeze	888-397-3742
Cancel membership	479-343-6239
ProtectMyID subscription	866-960-6943
Opt out of prescreened offers	888-567-8688

Alternatives to Calling Credit Bureaus

Not all experts think calling a credit bureau is the best approach. Don Petersen, an attorney at Howard Lewis & Peterson, PC, in Utah, recommends calling a bureau for only basic administrative questionsâsuch as updating an address or asking if a recent data breach has affected you.

For most other issues, Petersen advises his clients to write to credit bureaus or submit disputes online. This provides you with an official record of your request.

If you do prefer to call a credit bureau, take notes during the call and follow up in writing after the telephone conversation. In your follow-up letter, you should include the name of the representative you spoke with as well as details of what transpired in your conversation.

Send important requestsâespecially disputesâthrough certified mail. This allows you to track the letter and ensure that the credit bureau responds in a timely manner. Never send original copies of documents, as the bureaus may not return anything you send.

Equifax Mailing Addresses

Reason for Contact	Address
Credit dispute	Equifax Information Services LLC P.O. Box 740256 Atlanta, GA 30374-0256
Request a copy of your credit report	Equifax Disclosure Department P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Fraud alert	Equifax Information Services LLC P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348-5069
Credit freeze	Equifax Information Services LLC P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788

TransUnion Mailing Addresses

Reason to Contact	Address
Credit freeze	TransUnion P.O. Box 160 Woodlyn, PA 19094
Credit dispute	TransUnion Consumer Solutions P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19016-2000
Fraud alert	TransUnion Fraud Victim Assistance P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19016
Request credit report	TransUnion LLC Consumer Disclosure Center P.O. Box 1000 Chester, PA 19016

Experian Mailing Addresses

Reason to Contact	Address
Credit dispute	Experian Dispute Department P.O. Box 4500 Allen, TX 75013
Credit freeze	Experian Security Freeze P.O. Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013
Privacy	Chief Privacy Officer Compliance Department Experian 475 Anton Blvd. Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Report a relativeâs death	Experian P.O. Box 9701 Allen, TX 75013

Track Your Credit

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to obtain a free copy of all three reports once each year. These free reports can be accessed on the government-mandated site operated by the big three credit bureaus, AnnualCreditReport.com.

You can also sign up for the free credit report card offered by Credit.com, which provides a snapshot of your credit as well as the ability to dig deeper into the elements that affect your credit score. When you sign up, youâll also get regular emails with tips and tricks for keeping your credit healthy.

The post How and When to Talk to a Credit Bureau appeared first on Credit.com.

Source: credit.com