In another first, Credit Karma, an online consumer finance platform, has launched a new Direct Dispute™ feature to help people seamlessly dispute credit report errors directly from their free credit report with just a few clicks.
According to an FTC study, one in four Americans have an error on their credit report that could result in a lower credit score.
In a rollout to an initial group of users, Credit Karma has facilitated more than 600,000 disputes. Eight-seven percent of disputes filed ended successfully with a change to a member’s credit report, with a median resolution time of five days. As with everything available from Credit Karma, use of Direct Dispute is completely free.
“Nearly half of Americans have not checked their credit report2, so many have errors which might be hurting their credit score. We want to change that,” said Ken Lin, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Credit Karma. “Our online Direct Dispute feature lets our members easily take action as soon as they see an error. It is a huge advancement of Credit Karma’s mission to help people improve their financial situation.”
Credit Karma’s Direct Dispute feature is the most streamlined, proactive integration of a dispute resolution feature to date, giving consumers both the context to understand and identify errors and the means to dispute them immediately. Until now, the process has been more complicated, with consumers often left having to write letters or employ a professional to petition the credit bureaus to remove an error.
While viewing their TransUnion credit report within Credit Karma, members can dispute an account error by completing a simple online process with only a few simple clicks. TransUnion, one of three major national credit bureaus, is then directly notified. When a member files a dispute, the credit bureau makes an initial assessment and forwards the dispute for further investigation to the relevant financial institution or agency that provided the account information. If the review results in an update to the disputed report, the company that provided the information is also obligated to notify the other major bureaus it reports to of the correction.
According to the FTC, the most common credit report errors include mistaken or fraudulent accounts and incorrect account details. A credit report and score change can affect access, terms and rates of products and services, including credit cards, apartments and mortgages, cell phone services and home utilities, and auto and personal loans.