TransUnion: error on a credit report

Collect

• TransUnion credit report page with the error
• proof of the correct information
• copy of government ID
• proof of current address

Steps

1. Get a free TransUnion report from AnnualCreditReport.com and mark each wrong item.

   OnlineAnnualCreditReport.com (free reports from all three bureaus)

2. File the dispute online and upload proof.

   OnlineOnline credit report dispute Sign-in required

3. Or send a dispute letter that explains what is wrong and why, with copies of proof, by certified mail with a return receipt.

   MailCredit report dispute by mail TransUnion LLC Consumer Dispute Center, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016

4. Or dispute by phone.

   PhoneTransUnion consumer line (phone disputes, security freeze) +1-800-916-8800

5. Dispute the item with the company that reported it, too.

6. If TransUnion does not fix a verified error, complain to the CFPB.

   RegulatorConsumer Financial Protection Bureau +1-855-411-2372

More contacts for this issue

Facts you can cite

• Deadline

  The credit bureau has 30 days to investigate a dispute, however it is filed.

  Source: consumer.ftc.gov, verified 2026-10-12

• Process

  The bureau must forward your evidence to the business that reported the information, give you the results in writing, and give you a free copy of the report if the dispute changes it.

  Source: consumer.ftc.gov, verified 2026-10-12

• Deadline

  If a bureau decides a dispute is frivolous or irrelevant, it must notify you within five business days and explain why.

  Source: consumerfinance.gov, verified 2026-10-12

• Policy

  The three bureaus have permanently extended the program that lets you check your credit report from each of them once a week for free at AnnualCreditReport.com.

  Source: consumer.ftc.gov, verified 2026-10-12

Tips

• Company tip

  The CFPB recommends sending a dispute to the company that reported the information by certified mail; the furnisher generally must respond within 30 days.

  Source: consumerfinance.gov, verified 2026-10-12

Rules in force

• Fair Credit Reporting Act dispute rights (credit bureaus and furnishers)
  15 U.S.C. 1681i; 15 U.S.C. 1681j(a)(3); 12 CFR 1022.43 (Regulation V)

  A consumer can dispute inaccurate or incomplete information with a credit bureau, which must reinvestigate free of charge within 30 days (up to 15 more days in some cases), notify the furnisher within 5 business days, and delete or correct information that is inaccurate, incomplete or cannot be verified. A consumer can also dispute certain information directly with the company that furnished it.

  Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12

  9 citable points

  • Deadline

    The credit bureau must reinvestigate free of charge and finish "before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the agency receives the notice" of the dispute.

    Source: govinfo.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Deadline

    The 30-day period may be extended "for not more than 15 additional days" if the bureau receives relevant information from the consumer during the 30 days. The extension does not apply if, during the 30 days, the information is found inaccurate or incomplete or the bureau finds it cannot be verified.

    Source: govinfo.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Deadline

    A reinvestigation requested after the consumer receives a free annual report from a nationwide bureau "shall be completed not later than 45 days after the date on which the request is received".

    Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12

  • Deadline

    The bureau must notify the furnisher of the dispute within 5 business days after receiving it, and must give the consumer written notice of the results not later than 5 business days after completing the reinvestigation. If it ends a dispute as frivolous or irrelevant, it must tell the consumer not later than 5 business days after that determination.

    Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    Information found inaccurate or incomplete, or that cannot be verified, must be promptly deleted or modified. Deleted information cannot be put back unless the furnisher certifies it is complete and accurate, and the consumer must be told in writing within 5 business days of reinsertion.

    Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12

  • Process

    If the reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute, the consumer may file a brief statement of the dispute. The bureau may limit it to one hundred words if it helps the consumer write a clear summary. On request, the bureau must send notice of a deletion or correction to recipients who got the report for employment purposes within the past two years, or for any other purpose within the past six months.

    Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12

  • Process

    Direct disputes with a furnisher (Regulation V): a furnisher must reasonably investigate a direct dispute about the consumer's liability on an account, the account terms, the consumer's conduct on the account, or other information bearing on creditworthiness. The dispute must go to the furnisher's direct-dispute address (an address on the credit report, an address the furnisher specified, or any business address if none was specified), identify the account and the disputed information, explain the basis, and include supporting documents.

    Source: consumerfinance.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Deadline

    The furnisher must complete its investigation of a direct dispute and report the results to the consumer within the same period a credit bureau has under FCRA section 611(a)(1). If it finds the information inaccurate, it must promptly notify each bureau it reported to and correct it.

    Source: consumerfinance.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Limit

    A furnisher need not investigate direct disputes about identifying information (name, date of birth, Social Security number), employers, inquiries, public records, or fraud and active-duty alerts, or disputes it reasonably believes come from a credit repair organization. If it finds a dispute frivolous or irrelevant, it must tell the consumer within five business days, with its reasons.

    Source: consumerfinance.gov, verified 2026-10-12

If that fails, escalate

Go up one step at a time. Keep the reference numbers and dates from each contact.

1. Written complaint

   OnlineOnline credit report dispute Sign-in required

   Or dispute by mail (dispute-mail). Also dispute with the company that supplied the data.

2. Federal regulator

   RegulatorConsumer Financial Protection Bureau +1-855-411-2372

3. State agency

   Your state’s attorney general. Find it in the list of state agencies (also as JSON: states/<code>.json, for example states/ny.json).

4. Small claims court

Watch out

Related

• Error on a credit report at other companies
• How TransUnion complaints actually go (dossier, checked 2026-10-12)
• Credit bureaus — how disputes and complaints work
• TransUnion: sent to collections
• TransUnion: fraud or scam