Q. I have two disputed debts. I sent certified letters to both companies but 30 days have lapsed with no response. I saw on a different Web site that once 30 days is up I can contact the credit agencies and request removal of such debt from my credit reports. Is that true?

A.That's not the right process for disputing debts.

According to the Federal Trade Commission you must contact the credit reporting companies and inform them of inaccuracies in your reports.

You can initiate the dispute process online at Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.

You'll have to clearly identify each disputed item, explain why you think the information is wrong and are requesting to have it corrected or removed, and you should have documentation to back up your claim.

The credit agency must forward that information to the creditor, which must then review and report its findings back to the credit agency -- not you.

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act the creditor has 30 days to verify the debt on your credit report is correct. If the process takes longer than that the credit agency must remove the debt from your report until it can be verified.

If the disputed information is found to be incorrect, or the creditor can't produce proof that you owe what it says you owe, the credit agency must permanently delete that debt from your credit report and notify the other two credit agencies to correct their histories, too.