Credit bureaus are large organizations that process enormous amounts of data. They will undoubtedly make mistakes. Fortunately, the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) provides you with the right to correct or delete any information that's found to be inaccurate or unverifiable on your credit reports.
So, if you happen to find an error, you're free to dispute it through the credit reporting agencies without fear of hurting your credit scores. However, it's important to remember that your credit reports will indicate when an account is in dispute, which in some cases might cause credit-scoring models to disregard the entire account when computing your credit scores.
Multiple accounts in dispute could also raise a red flag to potential lenders and trigger a closer review of your file before an application for credit is approved. This has become more common in the mortgage industry during recent years, so be sure to dispute any incorrect information well in advance of applying for a home loan. Once the dispute process is complete, you can expect the dispute notation to be promptly removed and updated with the result of the credit bureau's investigation.
