Lender placed "in dispute" on our credit file

I would have both items removed. If you were not 30 days late, it shouldn't be reported that way.

The way that should report on your credit then is a statement that says "disputed by consumer" and will only be that way until the dispute is resolved itself. So, it should eventually be removed, but won't hurt your credit while it's on there; if you're applying for credit, like a new mortgage, etc., in the near term, then you'll want to get that language removed prior to applying for that as the new mortgage guidelines are requiring disputes to be resolved on outstanding balances. If it was your mortgage company's mistake, though, you should continue to try to get that 30 day late removed; that will hurt your credit considerably in the near term. If that is the case, then you should request, in writing, any and all information your mortgage company has on file that supports their right to report the mortgage late on your credit. Just remember that the FACTA Act requires any information on your report to be verifiable, complete and accurate.

What you don't tell us is "what is your score" today? A one time 30-day late on a overall good credit report is absolutely nothing to worry about. This brings up another over hyped consumer issue... Inquiries on your credit report effecting your score. For 90% of people, an inquiry is nothing to be concerned about. The only time you need to have a slight concern is if you have A LOT (over 10) inquiries in the past 90 days.

First of all, either you were or you were not 30 days late. If you payment was due on March 1 and the payment is not received by the bank by the close of business on March 31, then you are 30 days late. If they had the payment, but failed to apply the payment to your account, that is another matter. Let's assume that you really were late. You disputed it because they gave you false information that could impact the reporting. They researched it and said the payment was late and if you accept that, then they have no reason under the FCRA to continue to report the dispute. Many banks are staffed by sorry little people who just like to make other people's lives miserable. This is one of the ways that they do it. Go to my Lender411 profile and send me an email asking for my Dispute Resolution letter. I have a letter written by the Credit Bureaus that will get them to remove the dispute even if the bank won't. I'll be happy to send you a copy. Once you get the letter to the Bureaus, they will tell the bank to remove the dispute, and the bureau will remove it from your file. ~ Bert Carpenter, The LoansA2z team of NOVA Home Loans ~ NMLS 40586 ~ www.LoansA2z.com