Annual Credit Report Delay?

Hi Guys!

Fabulous website. Tons of really usable info. I appreciate your efforts!

I have read that if you order your credit reports through annualcredit report.com and then dispute information on your report the CRAs have 45 days to respond to your dispute instead of 30. Obviously I would prefer to limit the dispute process to 30 days.

Is this true? How would they know? Is it only true if you send a copy of your report along with your dispute? How long does the 45 day allowance last? – Just one dispute? Or are you doomed to a 45 day response time forever? Oh, my aching head! Please help me understand…

Thanks!

Lance

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Hello Lance,

You are correct.  The CRA has forty-five days to respond to a dispute that generated from the free credit report received at annualcreditreport.com  Specifically, FCRA 1681j(a)(3) states:

REINVESTIGATIONS- Notwithstanding the time periods specified in section 611(a)(1), a reinvestigation under that section by a consumer reporting agency upon a request of a consumer that is made after receiving a consumer report under this subsection shall be completed not later than 45 days after the date on which the request is received.

A couple of points to make here: (1) the CRA will use the ACDV system regardless of how the dispute is received, and (2) if your dispute results are returned unfavorably then obtain a new credit report for your next dispute.

Thanks for the questions and hope this helps.

Paul