CHECKDISPUTE | FREE PRACTICE CHECKLIST
Why Are My Three Credit Reports Different? What to Check

1. Write the request date at the top of each report, and confirm both were pulled close enough together to compare.
2. Confirm both entries describe the same account: same creditor name, same account type, same date opened.
3. Compare the credit limit or original amount on each report against your agreement or a statement, and write down all three values.
4. Compare the balance on each report against a statement whose closing date you can read, and note that closing date.
5. List any payment or charge that fell between the two closing dates before you treat a balance difference as an error.
6. Compare the account status and the payment history month by month, and mark any month the two reports describe differently.
7. Compare the date of last payment, the date opened and the date of first delinquency across both reports.
8. For any field that still disagrees, write one sentence naming the account, the field, the value on each report, and the dated document that contradicts one of them.
9. File the two reports and the supporting document together, each labeled with its date.

Practice: https://checkdispute.com/learn/practice/article-04/
Full guide: https://checkdispute-guides.blogspot.com/2026/09/why-are-my-three-credit-reports.html
Sources checked: 2026-09-20

General education, not personalized legal advice. No credit or dispute outcome is promised. Disputing errors directly is free.