Bridgecrest is reporting a car loan that isn't yours, or isn't right?

Who Bridgecrest is and what it reports

Bridgecrest Acceptance Corporation is an Arizona corporation with its principal place of business in Tempe, Arizona. It finances and services used-car loans. According to its 2026 SEC registration statement, Bridgecrest acquires substantially all of its retail installment contracts from the financing of vehicles sold by its affiliate DriveTime Car Sales, which operated 147 dealerships in 30 states as of March 31, 2026. As of that date, Bridgecrest serviced about $30.8 billion in auto loans, roughly $23.6 billion of which were originated and owned by others.

Bridgecrest also has a Carvana connection. Its subsidiary, Bridgecrest Credit Company, LLC, filed SEC servicing reports for securitized pools of Carvana-originated auto loans. So if you bought a car from DriveTime or Carvana with financing, there is a good chance your monthly statement, and the tradeline on your credit report, came from Bridgecrest.

DriveTime launched Bridgecrest as its servicing company in April 2016, taking over servicing that DriveTime Acceptance Corporation had handled for more than 220,000 customers. That history matters if you have an older DriveTime loan: the name on your credit report may have changed over the years even though the loan did not.

When Bridgecrest reports a loan’s balance, payment history and status to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, the FCRA treats it as a “furnisher,” with legal duties to investigate disputes the bureaus forward to it.

Why identity theft auto loans are a special problem

Buying a car online, with documents uploaded and a vehicle delivered to an address, can make it easier for a thief who has your name, Social Security number and date of birth to finance a car in your name. Consumers report learning about these loans only when a collection call comes in, a credit application is denied, or a late payment hits their report months later.

A fraudulent car loan can do outsized damage. It adds a large installment debt you never agreed to, it may show missed payments from the start, and it can end in a repossession and deficiency balance reported against you. The FCRA gives you specific tools to get it off your report, but you have to use them, and you should keep a paper trail of every step.

Errors that show up on Bridgecrest accounts

• Loans you never took out. An identity thief financed a vehicle in your name, or a relative used your information without permission.
• Fraud accounts that come back. The account is removed after you report fraud, then reappears after Bridgecrest “verifies” it or reports it again.
• Mixed or misattributed accounts. You were listed as a reference or had no connection to the sale, but the loan was reported on your file, sometimes because of a similar name or a shared address.
• Late payments that weren’t late. A payment made on time posts late, is applied to the wrong loan, or is missed during a change in payment processing.
• Wrong balances after the car is gone. A repossession or total-loss balance that doesn’t credit the auction proceeds or the insurance or GAP payoff.
• Paid loans still open. You paid off or refinanced the loan, but it still shows as open with a balance.

How to dispute Bridgecrest

1. Pull all three reports from AnnualCreditReport.com and save dated copies. Look for the Bridgecrest tradeline and any older DriveTime account tied to the same vehicle.
2. For identity theft, report it first. File a report at IdentityTheft.gov and, if you can, with your local police. Then send each bureau a copy with a request to block the account under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2. Consider a fraud alert or credit freeze too.
3. Dispute with each bureau reporting the error. Use the Equifax, Experian and TransUnion dispute channels. State exactly what is wrong and attach proof: the identity theft report, proof of where you lived and what you drove, bank records showing payment dates, a payoff letter, or an insurance or GAP settlement statement.
4. You may also dispute directly with Bridgecrest using the contact information on its statements or website. Keep copies. A direct dispute alone does not give you a right to sue.
5. Track the deadlines. Bureaus generally have 30 days to reinvestigate (§ 1681i(a)(1)), and Bridgecrest must complete its investigation within the same period (§ 1681s-2(b)(2)).

Why the bureau dispute matters: consumers cannot sue a furnisher to enforce its general accuracy duties under § 1681s-2(a). The private claim arises under § 1681s-2(b), after a bureau notifies Bridgecrest of your dispute and Bridgecrest fails to reasonably investigate and fix the error. For more on fraud accounts, see our page on identity theft and your credit report.

How to contact Bridgecrest

We could not verify Bridgecrest’s consumer phone numbers or mailing addresses on an official Bridgecrest page when we updated this guide, so we don’t list them here.

• Online: Bridgecrest’s customer support center and your online account.
• Phone and mail: Use the contact information on your Bridgecrest statement.
• Identity theft: File at IdentityTheft.gov and send the report to each bureau with a block request under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2.
• Credit bureau disputes: File with each bureau that shows the error through Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Your FCRA rights

• Furnisher investigation (§ 1681s-2(b)). After notice from a bureau, Bridgecrest must reasonably investigate, review what the bureau sends, report the results, and modify, delete or block information that is inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable. Simply confirming that the name and Social Security number match its records may not be enough when you have sent proof of fraud.
• Identity theft blocking (§ 1681c-2). Bureaus generally must block fraudulent information within four business days of a proper request. Furnishers have separate duties under § 1681s-2(a)(6) not to re-report information identified as identity theft, but that provision does not create a private claim.
• Reporting time limits (§ 1681c). Most negative information, including charge-offs and repossessions, cannot be reported after seven years.
• Bureau duties (§§ 1681e(b), 1681i). A bureau that keeps reporting the Bridgecrest account after your dispute may face its own claim.

Can you sue Bridgecrest?

Yes, in the right case. Your FCRA claim against Bridgecrest usually arises under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b): you dispute with a credit bureau, the bureau notifies Bridgecrest, and Bridgecrest fails to reasonably investigate or to correct or delete information that is inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable. A dispute sent only to Bridgecrest does not create that claim. A credit bureau that keeps the error after your dispute may be liable too, under §§ 1681e(b) and 1681i.

You generally must file an FCRA lawsuit within two years after you discover the violation and no later than five years after the violation occurred (15 U.S.C. § 1681p).

What you may recover. For a negligent violation, you may recover actual damages, such as credit denials, higher interest, time and expense spent fixing the problem, and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1681o). For a willful violation, you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages as the court allows, and attorney’s fees and costs (§ 1681n).

Get a free case review before your deadline

An FCRA claim generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and no later than five years after it occurred (15 U.S.C. § 1681p). If Bridgecrest is reporting a car loan that isn’t yours, or reporting yours wrong, and a bureau dispute did not fix it, gather your reports, disputes, identity theft report and results letters and request a free case review. FCRA Attorneys has offices in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta, files FCRA cases in federal court nationwide, directly or with local counsel, and works on contingency: no fee unless we win.

Questions about suing Bridgecrest

Can I sue Bridgecrest over my credit report?

Possibly. Bridgecrest is a furnisher of credit information. If you dispute a Bridgecrest account through Equifax, Experian or TransUnion and Bridgecrest fails to reasonably investigate and correct inaccurate data after the bureau notifies it, you may have a claim under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b).

I never bought a car from DriveTime or Carvana. Why is Bridgecrest on my report?

If you never signed for the loan, someone may have used your identity to buy a vehicle, or the account may have been matched to your file by mistake. File an identity theft report at IdentityTheft.gov, dispute the account with each bureau that shows it, and ask the bureaus to block it under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2.

Is Bridgecrest the same company as DriveTime or Carvana?

They are related but separate. Bridgecrest Acceptance Corporation is an Arizona company whose loans come mainly from cars sold by its affiliate DriveTime, and a Bridgecrest subsidiary has serviced loans originated by Carvana. The company that reports the loan to the bureaus is the one you dispute through the bureau process.

What does it cost to hire FCRA Attorneys?

Nothing up front. We handle FCRA cases on contingency, so there is no fee unless we win, and the FCRA allows a successful consumer to recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs under 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681n and 1681o.

Related reading

• An Account on My Credit Report Is Not Mine: What Now?
• How to Dispute Credit Report Errors With Equifax, Experian and TransUnion
• How to Remove a Late Payment From Your Credit Report, and When You Can't
• Denied Credit During a Credit Dispute: What You Can Do

Sources

• Bridgecrest Auto Funding LLC, Form SF-3/A registration statement (SEC, 2026), describing sponsor and servicer Bridgecrest Acceptance Corporation
• Carvana Auto Receivables Trust 2021-N1, Form 10-K Exhibit 33.1: Bridgecrest Credit Company servicing criteria assessment (SEC, 2022)
• PR Newswire: DriveTime Continues Integration of Dealership Experience and Financial Services With Launch of Bridgecrest (April 5, 2016)
• Bridgecrest: Customer support center

Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.