Finding out your identity has been stolen is tough. You’ll be angry and frustrated that this has happened to you. But worse than that will be the frustrations you encounter as you’re trying to clean up the mess.

Since identity theft tends to start as a financial crime in most cases, the most important part of clearing up the damage is fixing credit report errors or unauthorized charges and accounts opened in your name. The key to cleaning up your credit report is to move quickly and be patient.

The faster you catch and dispute errors, the easier it will be to clean them up. Just understand that even when errors are caught early, disputing a credit report entry will take time.

What are your rights when dealing with identity theft?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) of 1970 made it a law for credit reporting agencies such as TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax  to investigate disputes about the information contained on your credit report. Even so, they aren’t required to handle the disputes with a good attitude and a smile on their face. In fact, it’s not uncommon for the credit reporting agencies to claim that disputes are frivolous or even for them to claim that your request for dispute is illegal. That’s not true, which is why you need to understand your rights as a consumer.

You have the right to dispute inaccurate and unauthorized entries on your credit report. According to the FCRA, you’re also entitled to:

• A written explanation of the results of any investigation resulting from such a dispute
• A free copy of your credit report once any corrections have been made.

Once an investigation is complete and your credit report has been corrected, you also have the right to request that a copy of the updated report be delivered to every creditor that has pulled your credit in the last six month and every employer that has requested in the last two years. The catch is, you must request this services and must be done in writing.

What happens if the investigation finds you to still be liable for the debt?  

Sometimes an investigation doesn’t lead to an answer that’s in your favor. If an investigation finds that you’re still liable for an entry on your credit report, then you can request, in writing, that the dispute be noted on your credit report and that your dispute letter be included each time your full credit report is requested.

How long does the investigation process take?

You have the right to a reasonably speedy investigation of any dispute that you make. By law, that investigation should be complete within 20 business days of the date that the credit reporting agency receives your dispute letter. That usually means you can expect to see the results of their investigation within 30-45 days after submitting the dispute. If you don’t have results within that time frame, you can follow-up on your dispute and you may have the right to have the disputed entry removed from your credit report, regardless of the results of the investigation. Please note, however, this is an activity that needs to be handled by appropriately qualified legal counsel.

Don’t be a victim; know your rights, and stand up for yourself.