We like to think that something as official and consequential as a credit report is error-free, but unfortunately, credit reporting errors do happen. One study by the Federal Trade Commission found that about five percent of consumers have at least one damaging error on their credit report.
With this in mind, you should check your credit report for errors every so often. Here are some of the most common credit reporting errors.
Personal information and identity
Credit reports sometimes include false information about your identity or contact information. Such mistakes include name misspellings and incorrect addresses or phone numbers.
These may seem trivial, but they might lead to issues down the line when you need to obtain a loan.
More alarmingly, identity errors could be the result of identity theft. It’s also possible for your accounts to get mixed with the accounts of someone with the same or a similar name.
Account reporting errors
When it comes to your accounts, a single error could greatly lower your credit score.
Closed accounts may be reported as open or vice versa. Accounts and payments may also be incorrectly reported as delinquent or late. Alternatively, accounts may have an incorrect balance or credit limit.
Finally, the same debts may be listed more than once, or 7-year-old debts, which should no longer affect your credit score, may still appear.
Data management
Data management errors may occur when incorrect information is reinserted after it has been corrected.
Another example is when accounts mistakenly appear multiple times with multiple creditors listed.
What to do if you find an error
If you find any errors, you should immediately reach out to both the credit reporting company and the information furnisher, or the company that provided the credit reporting company with information.
By law, both the information furnisher and the credit reporting company share responsibility in correcting credit reporting errors. If your dispute is unfairly rejected, you should seek legal counsel from a law firm such as The Werner Law Group.
We are here to defend you in the case of a credit score error. You have worked hard for your credit score, it’s important to protect it. Contact us here on our website, or by calling us at 361-578-7200.