I monitor the traffic to my website and monitor the search terms people use to find my website.  I see that a lot of other people have also been searching for information regarding Equifax credit scores dropping while a credit item is being disputed on their credit report.  So if you happen to find this blog and the same thing happened to you, will you please share your experience here or in the other post (link above).  I would really like to know if this is happening to a lot of people.  If it is and everyone shares their experiences, maybe we can do something about it. 

Also, has anyone else noticed if TransUnion or Experian do this too?  I do not have score monitoring for them.

I did file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.  I think everyone else should do the same.

Some people might not think it’s a big deal if they drop your score during a dispute since the dispute only takes up to 45 days.  But here is why it’s a problem…

I was in the market to buy a new car.  I had a small and very old collection account on my Equifax credit report.  I wanted to try to get it removed before I bought the car.  I noticed immediately after the dispute that my credit score dropped.  Nothing else had changed on my credit report except they changed the comment section to “investigation in progress”.  The dispute was taking too long and there was a car I was in love with so I decided to try to get it then instead of waiting for the dispute to complete.

I imagine that there would be many situations where an unsuspecting consumer might dispute several items, then need to apply for some sort of credit shortly after, and be denied credit because their score was drastically reduced.  I want to point out that it’s never just a few points… it’s a lot!

So anyway, if you have experienced this… please share your story with everyone.  Thanks so much!