It’s easier to dispute items on your credit report today, because you can open an inquiry with each credit bureau online.

When you find an error on your credit report, you’ll work directly with the bureau that issued the report. You might have a mistake on your TransUnion credit report while your reports from Experian and Equifax are error-free. In this case, you’d start an online dispute with TransUnion.

Log onto the bureau’s dispute resolution center — using the information listed earlier in this story — and click on the appropriate button to start a new dispute. Doing this will bring up your credit report with an option to dispute each piece of information on the report. Once you locate the incorrect information, whether it is a credit account still listed as open even though you’ve closed it or a late payment that you believe is inaccurate, click on the “dispute” option for that item.

You will then have the option to select a reason for your dispute. If you’ve never paid your auto loan late, but Experian reports that you have, you’d be able to explain using a dropdown box that you never paid that bill late.

Once you’ve selected all the items you want to dispute, you’ll be given the option to upload documents that help prove there is a mistake in your report. Take advantage of this: the more information you can provide, the better your chances of winning your dispute. If Equifax lists a late credit card payment from April 2017, attach the credit card statement from that month showing that you paid your bill on time. If TransUnion lists an auto loan as being open even though you’ve paid it off, upload your title paperwork showing that you own the car free and clear.

After you submit your online dispute, the credit bureau will send you alerts by email confirming that an investigation has been launched. The bureau will also send you emails every time there is new information about your dispute and when the investigation has been concluded.

You can also write a letter to the credit bureau if you’d prefer that method to opening a dispute online. Again, you can contact the bureaus using the information listed earlier in this story.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, your letter should include your complete name and address and should clearly identify each item in your report that is incorrect. Include the reasons why an item is incorrect and request that the offending item be removed or corrected.

The commission recommends sending a copy of your credit report with the incorrect items circled or highlighted. You should send this letter by certified mail, with a return receipt requested. This way, you can be certain that the credit bureau will have received your letter.

The Federal Trade Commission also recommends that you contact the institution that provided the credit bureau with the incorrect information. If the bureau reports a missed payment from your mortgage lender and you are disputing this, contact your mortgage lender, too, to inquire about the mistake.

Sample dispute letters for credit bureaus and creditors

Want to send a dispute letter to one of the three credit bureaus? Here is a sample dispute letter provided by the Federal Trade Commission. Just fill in the blanks when you send it.

The Federal Trade Commission recommends that you also send a dispute letter to the company — bank, lender or credit card provider, usually — that send the information you think is incorrect.

Here is a sample letter, provided by the FTC, for that step in the process:

What happens after you submit a dispute

The credit bureaus are required to investigate your dispute and will usually do so within 30 days, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Once you submit your dispute, either online or by writing, the bureau will forward your information to whatever organization provided it with the information in dispute. If you are disputing a late payment by one of your credit card providers, the credit bureau will send your information to that provider.

If the company does find that the information you are disputing is incorrect, it must then notify all three credit bureaus so that they can correct the information in your reports.

Once the investigation concludes, the credit bureau must provide you the results in writing, along with a free copy of your credit report if the dispute ended with a change. The bureau will also send you a written notice that contains the name, address and phone number of the company that provided the incorrect information.

You can report credit report errors online — however, we recommend doing it both in writing and online. If you do not like the outcome of the dispute, a paper trail will be helpful if you want to continue pressing for a change in your credit report. Plus, a written letter, sent by certified mail, can be more effective.

TransUnion

You can dispute with TransUnion at dispute.transunion.com, or contact the bureau by phone at 1-800-916-8800. You can also dispute information on your TransUnion report in writing at TransUnion, LLC, Consumer Dispute Center, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022.

Equifax

You can dispute online with Equifax online at equifax.com/personal/disputes/. If you’d prefer to dispute in writing, you can send a letter to Equifax Information Services LLC, P.O. Box 740256, Atlanta, GA 30374-0256. You can also call Equifax at 1-866-349-5191.

Experian

You can dispute online with Experian at www.experian.com/disputes/. You can dispute in writing at P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013.

The first step to checking your credit reports is to order your free copies. You can order one free credit report from each of the three credit bureaus every year from AnnualCreditReport.com. Be sure to only order your reports from this site. Other sites offering free credit reports might try to sign you up for credit-monitoring services that you might not need.

But once you get your reports, how do you check them for errors? The key is to figure how credit reports are organized and what information they contain.

Your credit reports start with a list of personal information, including items such as:

• Your full name
• Current and recent addresses
• Telephone number
• Social Security number
• Date of birth
• Spouse’s name
• Current and recent employers

Reports also contain a section for three types of public records: bankruptcies, tax liens and civil judgments. (Credit reports won’t list arrests, misdemeanors or other non-financial records.)

Maybe you failed to pay a tax bill. Your credit report would list the amount of the unpaid taxes and the filing date of a tax lien against you. If you’ve recently declared bankruptcy, your report will list the type of bankruptcy you’ve filed, the filing date of your bankruptcy and the court in which you filed.

You don’t want public records listed on your reports; these will cause your credit score to tumble. Fortunately, these records don’t stay on your reports forever: foreclosures and Chapter 13 bankruptcies fall off your credit report seven years after their filing dates, while Chapter 7 bankruptcies disappear from your report after 10 years.

Another important part of your credit reports is the accounts section. This section lists your credit card accounts and balances, and the balances of installment loans like auto and mortgage loans. Your report will list these accounts as either open, negative or closed.

For instance, your credit reports will list a mortgage loan that you are still paying off as open, including the loan’s current balance, the date you took out the loan and the lender behind the loan. Reports will also list whether you have any late or missed payments on this loan and will list whether the loan is open — meaning you are still paying it off; closed — you’ve finishing paying off the mortgage; or in foreclosure.

This section will list open credit card accounts, too, listing your current balance, the highest your balance has ever been and whether you are late on your payments.

If you are interested in a sample credit report, credit bureau Experian has a good example here.

Common errors in credit reports

Certain errors are more likely to pop up in credit reports. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warns consumers to look for:

• Errors made in your personal information, including reports that list your name incorrectly or contain an incorrect address or phone number.
• Closed credit card accounts that are still listed as open.
• Credit card or installment loan payments reported as late, even if you paid them on time.
• Debt that is listed on your report more than once, possibly with different names for each listing.
• Reports might say you owe more on your credit cards than you actually do.
• Reports might list credit limits on your accounts that are too low.

If you spot any of these errors, make sure to correct them. All of them could impact your credit score.

The biggest change with UltraFICO is that it looks beyond borrowing behavior to consider bank account transactions to help generate a credit score.

“It’s not a traditional credit score because traditional credit scores are based on your credit report, which actually doesn’t include deposit account information and includes only information about credit accounts,” said Chi Chi Wu, a staff attorney for the National Consumer Law Center, a nonprofit focused on consumer advocacy.

The UltraFICO Score is also unique in that consumers must opt in to link deposit accounts to their credit profiles, Wu said. Only then can FICO and its UltraFICO partners access and collect bank account transaction data and include it in the scoring process.

How to build your UltraFICO Score

The UltraFICO Score works to identify whether a consumer’s bank account transactions demonstrate that they are “positively managing their financial affairs,” Shellenberger said.

Similar to how a traditional credit score factors in different elements of a consumer’s credit account history, the UltraFICO will weigh bank account histories and score a consumer on favorable or risky behavior.

If you understand what UltraFICO looks at, you can start managing your checking, savings and money market accounts to set your score up for a boost.

Here’s what you can do with your bank account to help build your UltraFICO Score:

Maintain long-standing bank accounts

“We see that consumers that demonstrate relatively longer relationships with their checking and savings account providers are less likely to go delinquent or default on a credit obligation,” Shellenberger said.

Use your bank accounts often

“Consumers that have more frequent transactions versus those that rarely use their checking or savings accounts are better credit risks,” he added. Simply put, you want to make sure you have money moving into or out of your accounts on a consistent basis.

Avoid overdrawing your account or bouncing checks

Consumers who keep their account balances in the positive will be scored better by UltraFICO, but that’s not always easy.

“Frankly, there are banks that set tripwires for consumers to trigger overdrafts,” Wu said, pointing to “reordering transactions and being aggressive in getting consumers to opt into debit card overdraft protection.”

The best way to protect yourself from account overdrafts is opting out of overdraft protection and closely tracking account balances, deposits and withdrawals.

Develop a strong savings habit

“As we look at the ratio of money coming into [demand deposits] accounts versus going out, if we see a bit more coming in than going out (indicative of saving), this is correlated with better credit risk,” Shellenberger said.

Get a budget in place that helps you live within your means and spend less than you earn each month. Try to widen the gap between income and spending, too, so you’re saving more each month.

Should you be concerned with your UltraFICO Score?

The UltraFICO Score could be a step toward opening up credit opportunities for millions of Americans who can’t qualify with previous scores.

But consumers should consider whether they are likely to benefit from the UltraFICO Score before agreeing to share their bank account data.

Some people’s UltraFICO Scores could be lower than what they’d score with other models. This might be the case if you have spotty financial behaviors and an unfavorable bank account history. And if you already have an excellent credit score, Wu said, you’re not likely to benefit from the UltraFICO Score.

You should also consider your level of comfort with sharing your financial account information. The UltraFICO is a positive use of such data, Wu said, but other potential applications could be worrying, such as debt collectors accessing this data. And last year’s Equifax data breach proves that consumers should be concerned with how credit reporting agencies collect, store and use personal data.

“Consumers participating in this process have greater control and transparency over the financial information that is being shared with a credit grantor,” Shellenberger clarified when asked about privacy and security concerns. “The consumer has direct access to this data and therefore knows exactly what is being shared.” Finicity, Experian and FICO have also set up extensive information security measures and protections to keep users’ data safe, he added.

The reward of getting a higher UltraFICO Score could be worth it for average-credit consumers who need to borrow money — and meet the requirements to do so. If this is you, focus on building your credit now and keep your eyes open for more new on UltraFICO.