What If I See Inaccuracies on My Credit Report?

Inaccuracies on consumer credit reports are common. According to a survey conducted by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, 79 percent of all consumers' credit reports contained some form of error. Fortunately, federal law gives you the right to dispute and correct any information within your credit report that you recognize as inaccurate or that you do not recognize at all.

Facts

All the information within your credit report was provided to the credit bureaus by your creditors. Thus, a small error within a creditor's computer database can become a much larger problem when it appears within your credit file -- especially if the error results in the credit bureaus listing someone else's debts as yours. Less significant credit report errors you may discover include variations in your name, different dates of birth or incorrect addresses.

Significance

Ignoring credit report errors, even those that don't directly impact your credit rating, such as a misspelling of your name or an incorrect Social Security number, is a mistake. Because the credit bureaus use this information to match accounts with their owners, small credit report errors can cause the credit bureaus to match accounts incorrectly -- leaving you bearing the burden of someone else's financial mistakes. A poor credit rating due to credit errors can cause you to be turned down for credit, loans, insurance, housing and some forms of employment.

Prevention/Solution

The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows all consumers to dispute incorrect information directly with the credit bureaus. You can dispute online, via phone or by mail. Disputing via mail, however, gives you the opportunity to provide the credit bureaus with documentation to support your dispute. For example, if your birth date is listed incorrectly on your credit report, providing the credit bureaus with a copy of your birth certificate proves your claim of the error.

Original Provider

When you dispute credit report inaccuracies with the credit bureaus, they will attempt to verify the information with the creditor that originally provided it. Thus, notifying the information provider of the error gives you a greater chance of having the inaccuracy promptly corrected. The Federal Trade Commission recommends sending your dispute via mail and including as many details as possible -- since this makes the error easier for the information furnisher to recognize and correct.

Potential

If a creditor refuses to correct errors within your credit report and verifies the errors as accurate to the credit bureaus, the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to take legal action and file a lawsuit against the company in the interest of having your credit report corrected.