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False Or Inaccurate Credit Reports
How is your credit?
Chances are, it might be pretty good. However, you may be among the millions of Americans who have inaccurate or false information on your credit report. That can lead to you paying higher interest on loans, credit cards, and home loans. It could also lead to you being rejected for loans, lease agreements – even a job.
The Computer Did It
During a three-week period this Spring, Equifax, one of the three leading credit bureaus, sent inaccurate credit scores on millions of U.S. consumers to banks, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Equifax has said the errors were a result of a computer glitch it has since been fixed.
Consistent Mistakes
Though the Equifax technical error may be a one-off – false or incorrect credit information seems to be a constant.
Year after year there are consistent accounts of incorrect information being recorded on credit reports.
Last year a Consumer Reports investigation determined that 34 percent of participants found one or more errors in their reports.
“Mistakes in credit reports are more than just a frustrating hassle for consumers,” said Syed Ejaz, policy analyst for Consumer Reports. “Credit report errors can lower your credit score and lead to higher interest rates on loans or even prevent you from getting a job or an apartment. It’s time to hold the credit bureaus accountable for making sure credit reports are fair and accurate and to give consumers free access to their reports and scores at all times. No one should ever have to pay to access their own credit information.”
What Could Be Wrong
Anything and everything could be wrong on your credit report from your name to purchases you have financed.
However, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) targeted two areas in guidance issued late last month.
Both of those areas concern information that is obviously false such as an account that is paid in full but shows a balance; transactions dated before an account was opened or after a consumer’s death. Similarly, transactions recorded before a consumer’s date of birth are incorrect.
Increase In Complaints
The CFPB reports complaints about errors have more than doubled since 2018, according to Consumer reports.
“Complaints about ‘incorrect information on your report’ have represented the largest share of credit or consumer reporting complaints submitted to the CFPB for at least the last six years, and the CFPB receives more complaints about credit reporting than any other subject,” according to the agency.
Complaint Relief Drops
Credit reporting complaints are rising. However, resolving those complaints in favor of consumers has dropped dramatically.
Less than two percent of credit report complaints resulted in relief for consumers last year, according to a CFPB review. That is a significant drop from the 2019 figure of 25 percent.
“The CFPB’s analysis reveals that the NCRAs are closing these complaints faster and with fewer instances of relief,” according to the review.
Children Victimized
Adults are not the only ones being hurt by inaccurate or false credit information. Children, mostly in foster care, are having their identities used to create false credit reports.
The CFPB guidance on “junk data” in credit reports highlights that concern.
“Companies need to take steps to reliably detect and remove inconsistent or impossible information from consumers’ credit profiles,” the agency stated.
“When a credit report accuses someone of defaulting on a loan before they were born, this is nonsensical, junk data that should have never shown up in the first place,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Consumer reporting companies have a clear obligation to use better procedures to screen for and eliminate conflicting information, or information that cannot be true.”
Complaints About Complaining
Inaccurate information is not the only thing consumers complain about regarding credit reports.
“Consumers are caught in an automated system where they are unable to have their problem addressed,” states the CFPB’s annual report on credit bureaus.
Some consumers become so exasperated by the dispute process that they end up paying bills they do not owe, the report notes.
Consumer Reports meanwhile, has launched a petition to require unlimited free credit reports.
Fixing Your Credit Report
Each year, you can request a free credit report from one or all of the major credit reporting agencies – Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.
- Here are several ways to get your credit report.
- Online: Visit AnnualCreditReport.com.
- By Phone: Call 1-877-322-8228. For TTY service, call 711 and ask the relay operator for 1-800-821-7232.
- By Mail: Complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form (PDF, Download Adobe Reader) and mail it to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
PO Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
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Image and article originally from www.savingadvice.com. Read the original article here.