Method of Verification (MOV) Dispute Steps

Even though Credit reporting agencies have a legal responsibility to comply with the Fair Credit
Reporting Act, most often they will violate the provisions of the FCRA due the fact that most
disputes are processed through automated systems. The standard dispute process has been
automated by the credit bureaus through various electronic methods, the most common being eOscar, which is a centralized dispute communication tool. Additionally, the credit bureaus are
required to provide the method of verification that includes the name, address, and telephone
number of the data furnisher if requested by a consumer, but as previously stated, this rarely ever
happens.
Credit reporting agency employees and automated systems have a limited number of generic,
standard responses, and if your dispute does not fit in one of these categories, the credit reporting
agency employee or automated system will respond with the closest possible category. This then
creates a violation of the consumers rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
When you utilize the Method of Verification request, it can prove to be a very useful tool in
your credit repair process. This request is designed to force the credit reporting agencies to detail
their investigation. Seeing as how most investigations are automated, requesting a MOV will
often alert the credit reporting agencies that they have a smart consumer to deal with.
Go back over the Terms and Codes document and review all the terms and codes that the credit
reporting agencies use for disputes from consumers, and then use these sample letters as a guide
to writing your demand for information on the method of verification used. Remember, this
method is only used after you have received dispute results from the credit bureaus in which they
did not remove the derogatory information and used responses such as verified and/or new
information below.

Step 1 Sample Letter

Name
Address
City/State/Zip Code
Date
RE: Request to provide Method of Verification
To Whom It May Concern:
I am concerned about the validity and accuracy of your recent investigation of [Insert disputed
account information] that is reporting on my credit report. On [Insert Original Dispute Date] I
requested an investigation because I felt the item is not being reported legally, and on [Insert

Date of Response] I received a letter stating that your investigation was complete. Please explain
to me how you conducted your investigation!
1. Please explain to me what your representatives uncovered to lead them to believe that you are
reporting this item as it legally should be reported.
2. What certified documents were reviewed to conclude your investigation?
3. Please provide me a complete copy of all of the information that was transmitted to the data
furnisher as part of the investigation.
4. What did it cost your company to obtain the documents needed to complete your
investigation?
5. Please provide proof of your timely procurement of certified documents.
6. Did you speak directly to any agent of the company that was reporting the information to
confirm the accuracy of what you are reporting?
7. If you reply yes to the above then:
Who did you speak with?
What was the date?
How long was the conversation?
What was their position?
What number did you call?
What is the name of your employee that spoke directly to the above party?
What is the position of your employee that spoke to the above party?
How long has that individual been employed by your company?
What type of training was provided to this employee in order to investigate items of this kind?
Were there any e-mails or written communications between employees of your company and
the above party?
8. If so, please provide copies of all correspondence and copies of any and all conclusive
documentation to prove that you have in fact conducted a reasonable investigation of the
account(s) in question.
9. Please provide the date of the commencement of delinquency.
10. Please provide the SPECIFIC date reporting of this item will cease.
Enclosed with your response to the above questions, I respectfully request a notarized affidavit
confirming the information that is provided is true and correct as per my civil rights granted
under several federal laws. This information should not come as a form letter response.
My initial dispute was detailed and directly related to the account(s) in question. A template
response will not be an acceptable response. If you can not supply ALL of the above information
in a timely manner as detailed in several laws, including but not limited to the Fair Credit
Reporting Act, I must immediately demand the permanent removal of this item from my credit
report.
This erroneous entry is detrimental to my overall credit rating and has caused me severe financial
and emotional distress. If you choose not to provide the above requested deletion or
requested/required documentation of your investigation, I will pursue the enforcements of my
constitutional rights via federal court proceedings. As you are well aware this information will
come out through my formal discovery process, and necessary depositions. I have recently

studied constitutional consumer protection laws along with civil/federal court procedures. I will
represent myself pro se and will formally request a jury trial.
[Govern yourself accordingly],
Intelligent Consumer

Even after this letter is sent to the credit reporting agencies, they rarely ever meet the
requirements of a reasonable investigation. The methods that they employ simply transmit
incomplete information to the company that is improperly reporting the account/data in the first
place. Send out the next letter as a follow-up to the generic/standard letter response or nonresponse the credit reporting agencies have sent you regarding your first MOV request.

Step 2 Sample Letter

Name
Address
City/State/Zip Code
Date
RE: Procedure Request
NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE COMPLAINT
To Whom It May Concern:
This letter shall serve as formal notice of my intent to file a complaint with the FTC, due to your
blatant and objectionable disregard of the law. You claim to have somehow verified erroneous
information; therefore, I legally requested a description of the procedures used to verify this
information.
As indicated by the attached copy of the letter and mailing receipt, on [Insert Date on Receipt]
you received and accepted through registered mail my procedural request letter dated [Insert
Date of Your Letter]. To date you have not responded to this request and have thus not done your
duty as mandated by law.
Federal law requires you to respond within 15 days, yet you have failed to respond and it has
been over 30 days. Failure to comply with these federal regulations by credit reporting agencies
is investigated by the Federal Trade Commission (see 15 USC 41, et seq.). I am maintaining
careful record of my communications with you on this matter; for the purpose of filing a
complaint with the FTC should you continue in your non-compliance.

For the record, the following information is being erroneously included on my credit report.
[List all company name(s) and account number(s)]
You claimed to have verified the erroneous information, yet you refuse to tell me HOW you
were able to do so. If you do not immediately remove this inaccurate and/or incomplete
information, I will file a formal complaint with the FTC. As I stated, I am carefully documenting
these events, including the lack of response REQUIRED under federal law from you. Any
further delay is inexcusable.
Patiently Awaiting Your Response,
Name
SSN

After you have sent out both of these letters and you are still not receiving a favorable response
from the credit reporting companies, then an intent-to-sue should be sent out. Along with that
intent-to-sue, you should file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Reserve
Board, and the Better Business Bureau. Here is a example of a letter you can send out to the
credit reporting agencies after you have submitted your intent-to-sue:

Step 3 Sample Letter

Credit Reporting Agency
Address
City/State/Zip Code
To Whom It May Concern:
Enclosed is a copy of the lawsuit that I filed against you in [Your County] court on [Insert Date].
Currently the Pretrial Conference is scheduled for [Insert Date] at [Insert Time] in courtroom #
[Insert #]. The case number is [Insert Case #].
The reason the lawsuit was filed was due to a completely inadequate response from your
company. When someone is the victim of identity theft, it is simply a nightmare trying to get
false information removed from a credit file. I have contacted all of the false creditors listed on
my credit report. I have challenged all of the false listings on my credit file, and nothing is ever
done to fix this situation.
Over 90 days ago I wrote each of the creditors in question and demanded proof that I am their
customer. I asked for proof of the alleged debt, including specifically the alleged contract or
other instrument bearing my signature. So far none of them have been able to provide said proof

to me. I have sent follow-up letters to each of them and there is still no proof. I have attempted
phone contact, but I simply get transferred around and nothing ever gets accomplished.
I have fully investigated my rights in this matter. Under the doctrine of estoppel by silence,
Engelhardt vs. Gravens (MO) 281 SW 715, 719, I may presume that no proof of the alleged debt,
nor therefore any such debt, in fact exists. I have copies of the certified letters and dates prepared
to bring to court on [Inset Date]. Also, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, these disputed items
may not appear on my credit report if they can not be supported by any evidence.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, if they can not verify the debt within 30 days, then it must
be removed. Your letters to me claim to have verified the debt, but this is in fact not true under
law. Simply contacting the alleged creditor and asking them to match up numbers in their
database is no sufficient verification for identity theft. Of course the information matches up;
someone clearly used my information without my authorization.
Now I am suing [Insert Credit Bureau] for being such a pain in the posterior to me. I have
provided more than sufficient evidence to get these false accounts removed.
You may contact me before [Insert Pretrial Conference Date] at [Insert a Phone Number] or at
my address listed at the top of this letter. This matter can be settled simply by your agreement to
remove the false information from my credit report.
I require a response, on point, in writing, hand signed, and in a timely manner. If I get another
pointless letter from you saying that it has already been verified then there will be no more
opportunity for negotiation. This will proceed in court until I have successfully proven to a judge
that this false information must be removed from my credit report. I will also be aggressively
pursuing the full judgment that I can get against [Insert Credit Bureau] for violation of the Fair
Credit Reporting Act and defamation.
I have already won a similar lawsuit against [Insert Credit Bureau]. Enclosed is a copy of that
settlement. I will agree to a similar settlement with [Insert Credit Bureau] if you contact me
before [Insert Pretrial Conference Date]. If you accept the same terms as [Insert Credit Bureau]
did, then I will dismiss my lawsuit against [Insert Credit Bureau] and you will not need to appear
in [Insert County and State].
The items that need to be removed from my credit report are listed as follows:
[List account(s) and account(s) number(s)]
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]

This process is very detailed and lengthy, but it definitely will produce some results. It does
require extensive actions on your part, as far as filing a lawsuit against a major corporation with
your local judicial system, but the results are what make it worth doing. Going through this
process always you your financial freedom and even peace of mind, so do not hesitate to take
this road if necessary.