The six lines that make a letter a dispute

Section 1681i lets a bureau refuse to investigate a dispute it reasonably finds frivolous or irrelevant. The regulation for furnisher disputes goes further and lists what a dispute must contain. Put the two together and you get six lines. My mother's church letters had all six before the statute did.

1. Who you are, exactly as the file has you

Full name, current address, the last four of your Social. Which means: they can find the file without a phone call.

2. Which item

Creditor name and account number as shown on the report, or the report's own item number. One item per letter. Which means: "the collections" is not an item; "Meridian Recovery, account ending 4471" is.

3. What is wrong with it

The specific field: balance, status, date opened, date of first delinquency, late mark for a named month. Which means: they know what to check.

4. Why it is wrong

One sentence of fact. "Paid in full on 14 March 2025." "Account was opened in 2017; this tradeline shows 2025." Which means: the investigation has a claim to answer.

5. What proves it

Name the enclosure. "Enclosed: creditor letter dated 9 June 2025." The regulation requires the furnisher to consider what you send; the bureau's five-day forwarding duty means it goes to them. Which means: attach it, every time.

6. What you want

Delete, correct to X, or update the date to Y. And ask for the results in writing. Which means: "fix it" is not a request; "correct the date of first delinquency to 3 May 2021" is.

Everything else — the tone, the citations, the paragraph about your feelings — is optional. These six are not. Step one: take the letter you're about to mail and number its lines. If you can't find all six, don't mail it Friday.