You’ve already made the right decision for your clients by deciding to send a dispute letter to the credit bureaus on their behalf. Now it’s time to hone in on the details so the letter is clear, concise, and covers all the necessary bases. A letter to the credit bureau to remove paid debt is one of the easiest ways to improve clients’ financial well-being and raise their credit score.
Read these tips to make sure all of your Round 1 letters meet the requirements.
What is a Round 1 Letter?
A Round 1 letter is the first step in disputing an item with the credit bureau. It is sent directly to a bureau on behalf of your client regarding a particular item. You may send multiple Round 1 letters if there is more than one item to be disputed.
Look at sample credit bureau dispute letters to ensure you don’t miss any details.
What Documents are Necessary to Include?
The Round 1 letter includes the following information:
- The client’s full name including middle initial and suffix, such as Jr., Sr., II, III
- Social security number
- Date of birth
- Current address
- All addresses where the client has lived during the past two years
Two types of documentation need to be included with the above information. An item to validate identification and an item to validate the address. Some items are listed twice like state ID, but two different items are required for verification. Select one item from each of the following lists:
Select one item for ID Verification:
- Valid driver's license
- Social security card
- Pay stub
- W2 form
- 1099 form
- Court documents for legal name change
- Birth certificate
- Passport
- Marriage certificate
- Divorce decree
- State ID
- Military ID
AND one item of the following to validate address:
- Valid driver's license
- Utility bill with the correct address (gas, water, cable, residential phone bill)
- Cell phone bill
- Pay stub
- W2 form
- 1099 form
- Rental lease agreement/house deed
- Mortgage statement
- Bank statement
- State ID
What Else Should be Sent to the Bureau?
Depending on the nature of the disputed item, it is helpful to include copies of the following documents along with the letter to the credit bureau to remove debts already paid:
- Police reports showing a client was victim to identity theft
- A bankruptcy schedule verifying the account was included in a bankruptcy filing
- Letters from creditors showing how to correct an account
- Canceled checks demonstrating a collection has been paid
- Court documents for public records
How Many Times Do These Support Documents Need to Be Sent?
Credit bureau's investigation of a dispute can be a lengthy process, but luckily verifying the identification of your client and their address only needs to happen once. After you write a credit bureau dispute letter that includes the proper documents from the above two columns, you will not need to verify the client’s identity or address again.
Take the next step and read on about How to Write a Letter to a Credit Bureau.
