623 Dispute Letter Sample (Method Letter) | FCRA §623

A 623 dispute letter (sometimes called a 623 method letter) is a direct dispute you send to the company that furnished the account — not to Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. A sample letter is below.

Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2) places legal obligations directly on furnishers — the banks, credit card issuers, collection agencies, and other companies that report information to the credit bureaus. It requires furnishers to report accurate information, investigate disputes forwarded to them by the bureaus, and correct or delete information they find to be inaccurate or incomplete.

Critically, Section 623(a)(8) also gives consumers the right to dispute directly with the furnisher itself, rather than only going through Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. This is often called a "direct dispute" or "623 dispute."

These three FCRA sections are frequently confused because they all relate to correcting your credit file, but each does something different:

• Section 609 is a disclosure right — it lets you request a copy of your file and who has accessed it from the bureau. It does not dispute or remove anything. See our 609 letter guide for details.
• Section 611 is the standard dispute process with a credit bureau. The bureau investigates by forwarding your dispute to the furnisher and reporting back within about 30 days. See our Section 611 dispute letter guide for details and a sample letter.
• Section 623 lets you skip the bureau and dispute directly with the furnisher, who then has its own independent duty to investigate and correct inaccurate reporting.

A direct Section 623 dispute is worth sending in addition to (not instead of) a bureau dispute when:

• A bureau dispute already came back "verified" and you have new documentation the furnisher itself needs to see
• You want to put the original creditor or collector on direct written notice of the specific inaccuracy
• You are disputing something the furnisher would have first-hand records of (payment history, account status, balance) rather than something only the bureau tracks

Sending both a bureau dispute and a direct furnisher dispute creates two separate, independent investigation obligations, which can be a useful strategy when a single dispute channel has stalled.

A direct dispute letter to a furnisher should be treated with the same care as a bureau dispute. Include:

1. Your full name, address, and the exact account number as it appears on your credit report
2. A clear statement that you are disputing directly with them under FCRA Section 623(a)(8)
3. The specific information you believe is inaccurate, and why
4. Any supporting documentation (statements, cancelled checks, correspondence)
5. A request that they investigate, correct their records, and notify the credit bureaus of any correction

As with any formal dispute, send it via USPS Certified Mail with Return Receipt Requested so you have proof of the date the furnisher received it.

Under Section 623, a furnisher that receives a direct dispute must conduct a reasonable investigation, review all relevant information you provided, and report the results back to you. If they determine the information is inaccurate or cannot be verified, they must correct it and notify each bureau they report to.

If a furnisher fails to investigate, ignores your letter, or continues reporting information it cannot verify, you can escalate with a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a follow-up dispute through the credit bureau citing the furnisher's non-response, or consultation with a consumer protection attorney about a potential FCRA claim.