79% of Credit Reports Contain Errors!
The U.S. Public Research Interest Group report further details that:
- Wrongful DENIAL of Credit - 25% of the credit reports surveyed by USPIRG contain such serious errors that credit could be denied. Not so uncommon ERRORS included false delinquencies or accounts that did not belong to the consumer.
- Wrong Person, Wrong Personal Information - 54% of the credit reports contained wrong personal information or even belonged to someone else.
- Same Mortgage Listed TWICE - 22% of the credit reports surveyed listed the same mortgage loan twice.
- Missing HELPFUL Information - 8% of credit reports were missing information that could HELP the consumer’s credit worthiness.
- Closed Accounts Still Shown as OPEN - 30% contained credit accounts that had been closed by the consumer but remained listed as “open” on the credit report.
(full USPRIG report, click here)
You have the RIGHT to dispute anything on your credit report!
- Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act you can dispute any item on your credit report for any reason if you feel that it is even slightly incorrect. The law requires credit reporting to be 100% accurate. When you dispute anything on your credit report directly to the big three reporting agencies, they will investigate your dispute quickly. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the agencies typically respond within 30 days, most often sooner.
Most Companies Do NOT Have a Credit Dispute Process
- Therefore, you are in a strong position because the three major reporting agencies are required to REMOVE from your credit report anything that is not disputed by a creditor. If a creditor cannot prove 100% accurately that the items they have placed on your credit report are correct, it must be removed or amended to be 100% accurate. Since most companies do not have a good process, quite often the disputed item is deleted in its entirety.
It is easier to get credit with a higher credit score, higher scores usually receive a lower interest rate
- Creditors view credit scores as risk indicators, from literally “not worth the risk” to “worth the risk at a higher than average rate” all the way to “little to no risk, let’s get this person’s business by giving them a very low rate”. Don’t overpay for credit because of disputable items on your credit report!
A good credit score can also help you land a job
- Many companies check credit scores of applicants. With every job opening receiving a lot of applications, employers are forced to use more and more ways to determine who to hire and who to reject. The number of employers who check credit scores of job applicants has sky rocketed over the last two years. Don’t put yourself in a weak position when applying for a job.
