If you acknowledge that a negative item is definitely yours, you can always opt to challenge it in a different way, instead of just saying "not mine". If that's the case, you can send a version of the letter below to get it removed on a technicality, such as missing or incomplete information. One of our favorites is challenging an item based on an incorrect account number, as some credit bureaus report an account number something like Ex: Acct # 1234XXXXXXXX