People are surprised to learn that errors on a credit report are not at all unusual. Here are some of the most common ones:
- Name co-mingling. Information for someone who has a name similar to yours – whether related to you or not related to you – gets mixed in with your information on your credit report.
- Ex-spouse information. Joint accounts can stay on a credit report for seven years, even after a divorce. But some spouses do not have joint accounts and their spouse’s account shows up anyway.
- Outdated information. Most information should be removed from your credit report after seven years. There are two major exceptions: bankruptcies, which can stay on for ten years, and judgments against you, which stay on for seven years or longer, depending on the statute of limitations established by the state you are in.
- Student loans and other loans showing up as several different entries. This can happen if a loan has been sold to other lenders several times.
- Accounts, judgments or bankruptcies that are simply not yours.
- Accounts you’ve paid off that are still showing as open. Rumor has it that it doesn’t matter to a lender if the report indicates the account is closed – which implies the creditor closed it against your wishes – or if the report indicates the account was “closed by consumer” which clearly implies you voluntarily closed it. Why not play it safe. Be sure that all accounts you voluntarily closed are stated as such on your report.
- Transcription errors. Social security numbers accidentally transposed, incorrect name spelling, incorrect balance amounts are all examples of human errors made when processing information on your report. Sometimes these can make your financial situation look bleak to a lender – particularly if you owe $100 on a credit card and it reads as $10,000, for example.
- Missing information. Sometimes a report does not provide a full picture of your finances because it omits information that shows you to be responsible. Since creditor reporting is voluntary, it is up to the consumer to make sure the report contains all pertinent information. For example, if you have a credit card that you always pay on time, but it is not indicated on the report, you are allowed to provide this information and have it included in your report. Contact the credit reporting agencies. They are required to investigate and respond to you within 30 days.
Help! I found some errors and an omission! What do I do?
If an error or omission is found, you do have some rights.
Errors
Regarding errors, there’s some good news and some bad news. First, the good news. By law, the credit bureaus are required to correct an error without charge to you within 30 days of notification, otherwise they are required to remove the disputed information.
What’s the bad news? All of this is done electronically. So the credit bureau quickly reviews and tries to match the information they entered into the system in the first place with the information appearing on your report which you are disputing. But that is rarely the source of the error, so often what happen is that they can find no error. If that happens when you absolutely know for certain that there IS an error, that can be very frustrating.
The usual cause of the error is in the data that was entered in the first place. Explaining this to the three credit bureaus is quite difficult. There are phone trees to contend with, and customer service representatives who are trying to close their open cases on their desks.
What to do? You have to find a way out of the automated electronic checking system. Instead, you must repeatedly request what’s called an “adequate investigation.” How? Tell them over the phone. Often. Send them lots of documents that corroborate your point of view, with an accompanying letter insisting on an “adequate investigation.” When you send the documents, send them registered mail, return receipt requested. When you talk on the phone, keep a phone log including the date and time of your call, who you spoke with, what was discussed, and what the credit bureau representative said would happen. Eventually, your efforts will pay off. Once you’ve won with one credit bureau, you will have to tackle the other two bureaus. Sometimes it is easier once you have one win under your belt, which you can show to the other two.
Omissions
According to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) which was signed in December 2003, you have the legal right to add your own information, in your own words, onto your credit report. You also have the right to include your own note on your report about disputed information they are not removing from the report. The credit bureaus might balk, but it is your right. Don’t give in!
On this website, we provide a sample letter you can use to write to the credit bureaus in order to add information to your credit report. There is also a sample letter to correct errors on your credit report. Send one or both to the three bureaus by registered mail, return receipt requested.
The Three Major Credit Bureaus
Equifax Credit Information Services
PO Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
1.800.685.1111
www.equifax.com |
Experian
PO Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013
1.888.397.3742
www.experian.com |
TransUnion
PO Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022
1.800.888.4213
www.tuc.com |
The websites of all three credit bureaus urge you to report disputes and missing information on line. We strongly urge you to do it via US mail by registered mail, return receipt!
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