Your credit report contains information such as your total outstanding debt, if you repaid debt on time, where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether have filed for bankruptcy, foreclosed on your home or have been involved in any civil suits or judgments.

It's important to be sure everything on your credit report is accurate since it may be used to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment or apartment and home rentals. You can request your free credit report weekly at AnnualCreditReport.com. If you notice any errors on your report, dispute them with the credit bureaus and/or your lenders.

How credit report disputes work

You should initiate your dispute by directly contacting the involved credit bureau and/or your lender if applicable. See contact information below.

Credit bureaus have 30 days upon receipt to investigate your dispute.

If you are in the process of applying for a loan when you become aware of any inaccuracies, you should also immediately notify your current potential lender of the incorrect information in your report. Your lender will need to reorder your credit report(s) and score once the credit bureaus have made the needed changes to your information.

Visit the Federal Trade Commission's information on disputing errors on your credit report and review the provided sample letters for contacting the appropriate credit bureau(s) and the business(es) that provided the incorrect information.

Credit bureau contact information:

Experian: File a dispute online with Experian or call 888.397.3742

TransUnion: File a dispute online with TransUnion or call 800.916.8800

Equifax: File a dispute online with Equifax or call 888.378.4329