Tag Archives: Inaccurate Reports

How to Examine Your Consumer Report For Inaccuracies

Disputing Credit Reports

When you request a copy of your “credit report” from a consumer reporting agency, you are actually receiving a document that is a consumer report often referred to as a consumer file disclosure.  Under the FCRA, a credit report is consumer credit information that a CRA provided to third parties like banks, car dealers, and mortgage brokers.  A consumer report is simply that same credit information, however it sent directly to you the consumer not a third party.  Pursuant to Section 1681g of the FCRA, you are entitled to receive an exact copy of the entire contents of the credit file that the CRA maintains on you that it sends to third parties as a credit report.

The consumer reports provided by Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax all have a different appearance and layout, but the types of information maintained on the report are basically the same.  Some furnishers only report to one of the three main CRAs, so an account may appear on only one out of the three credit files.  Moreover, if you obtain a consumer report from a third party vendor, the appearance and ordering of the information can change.  In general, there are five main groups of information that appear on all consumer reports including: background information, public record information, prior credit account history, inquiries, and FCRA required disclosures.

On the top of your consumer credit report, the CRA provides you with the background information associated with the credit file as well as a credit file number.  The background identifying information includes: name, address, former addresses, date of birth, partial social security number, and employment data.  You should check this information carefully to make sure that none of the information is inaccurate.  If you are the victim of identity theft, many times you will see information related to the identity thief such as addresses and dates of birth that are unrelated to your actual identifying information.  Make sure you dispute any of the information that is inaccurate as incorrect background information can cause erroneous credit accounts to be associated with your credit file. For information on how to dispute inaccurate information in your credit file, please see my prior post:

https://yourfaircreditlawyernow.com/?p=36

Following your background information, you will see public record information, which can be some of the most damaging information on a credit file.  Many credit denials are the result of inaccurate judgment information, inaccurate bankruptcy information, or inaccurate tax liens.  You should carefully review the reported public record information to make sure that no information related to another consumer has been mixed up with your credit information.

Next, you will typically see information related to your past credit accounts.  Some CRAs will list the adverse accounts in a separate section of the report, while others will simply report the accounts in alphabetical order.  Attention to detail is vital as you review these accounts because account number and creditor names can change. Because of these changes, it can be difficult to determine if a particular account is yours.  If you see credit accounts that are not yours or accounts that are reporting inaccurate late payments, include a description why the account(s) are inaccurate when you send a credit dispute letter to the credit reporting agency.

Following your credit account information, you will see information related to third party inquires into your credit history.  These inquiries will include both “hard inquires” and “soft inquiries.”  When reviewing your inquiries, please make sure that you either authorized the credit inquiry or that the creditor had a legitimate business reason for acquiring a copy of your credit report.  “Soft inquiries” do not affect your credit score and can be acquired by companies that want to establish a business relationship with you.  Be careful when dealing with companies that have acquired your information via a soft inquiry as in some instances they can be companies that have poor records with organizations like the Better Business Bureau.

Finally, all CRAs are required to provide you with important notices regarding your rights under the FCRA.  At the end of the consumer report, you should receive a summary of your consumer rights as well as a list of regulatory agencies that you may contact.  If you are reviewing your consumer report and notice anything unusual, inaccurate, or wrong, please do not hesitate to contact me at my office, 571-313-0412.

Inaccurate Credit Reports Because of Mixed Credit Files and Merged Credit Files

Disputing Credit Reports, Employment Credit Reports, ,

A mixed credit file or a merged credit file occurs when another consumer’s credit information is placed erroneously on your credit report.  Despite the fact that the responsibility for the debt is that of another consumer, a credit reporting agency will attribute that information to your credit report.  This situation can lead to disastrous consequences because the information can cost you a mortgage, a job, or to pay higher interest rates.

As you would expect, both furnishers and credit reporting agencies can be the source of the incorrect credit account that appears on your credit report.  Mixed credit files and merged credit files occur for consumers because of the manner that credit reporting agencies acquire and organize their data.  Originally, furnishers provide information to credit reporting agencies about consumer accounts.  Furnishers provide this data electronically by including identifying information like name, address, and social security number.  If the information provided by the furnisher to the credit reporting agency is incorrect or missing, then the credit reporting agency can match the information to the wrong consumer’s file.  Incorrect file matching occurs because the credit reporting agencies do not maintain one file for each consumer.  The credit reporting agencies maintain pieces of individual data in their records and then associate and match similar data based upon complicated algorithms that are proprietary secrets.  While these algorithms are closely guarded secrets, we know some information about the process through discovery in litigation of mixed and merged credit file cases.  Typically, a nine for nine social security number match is not required to associate one piece of credit information with a particular credit file,  and other criteria like name and address are factors into the decision as to which file to place a credit account.  A name and address alone may be enough for incorrect data to match to your file and cause a completely different credit file to ultimately merge into your credit file as part of the computerized matching process.  Accordingly, people with common names have a higher chance to be the victim of mixed and merged credit files.  Inappropriately merged credit files typically occur when an existing credit file begins to more closely match your credit file with the credit reporting agency. Identity theft victims also can have the identity theif’s actual bad credit merge into the good credit of the victim.

Common mixed credit file and merged credit file causes include:

  1. Transposition errors in social security numbers.
  2. Incorrect name being attributed to a social security number.
  3. Different versions of your name like nicknames and maiden names.
  4. Mismatching information related to Jr., Sr., and III suffixes

Correcting inaccurate credit information as a result of mixed credit files or merged credit files is accomplished in the same manner as any other credit report inaccuracy.  Please review my previous blog post on how to dispute inaccurate information information on your credit report.

If you would like to contact me with any questions, or potential referral to a lawyer in your area, please contact me at 571-313-0412.

What happens after you send your credit dispute letter.

Disputing Credit Reports,

After you have mailed your credit dispute letter and supporting documentation to a credit reporting agency (CRA), the process typically results with your letter being
outsourced to another country like India, Costa Rica, Jamaica, or the Philippines
for processing.  Whether you disputed credit information with Equifax, Experian, Trans Union, or another CRA will ultimately determine the particular country in which your dispute is outsourced.  When the CRA receives the credit dispute letter, it normally has the dispute letter with attachments scanned into its system.  Next, the CRA has the foreign-based processor review the letter and documentation to identify your particular type of dispute and select a code number that best describes your particluar dispute. At this point, the CRA must notify the furnisher of your dispute. The FCRA presently requires that the CRA must notify the furnisher of the dispute within five business days of receiving your credit dispute letter.  The CRA will send notice of your dispute through an electronic system known as E-OSCAR via a form called an Automated Consumer Dispute Verification form or “ACDV”.  The furnisher of the disputed credit information will receive the ACDV and has a duty to conduct a reasonable investigation of the dispute.

I think that it is helpful to imagine your credit dispute letter running on two parallel train tracks, one with the CRA and one with the furnisher of the information.  When the CRA reviews your dispute, if it determines that the disputed information is inaccurate,
incomplete, or cannot be verified, it has to delete the item of information or change the information as appropriate given the results of its reinvestigation.  The time required for a CRA to complete its investigation depends on certain factors and can be extended, but a good rule of thumb is that a CRA has about thirty days to complete the investigation of your credit dispute.  In addition, the furnisher of the disputed credit information also has a responsibility to investigate your dispute.  The furnisher should make a detailed inquiry into its records to assure that the information reported is full, complete, and accurate.  Often times the furnisher will only check its computer records to determine if it has already made a decision regarding the disputed account and will not conduct the thorough analysis required.  After the furnisher completes its investigation, it will send a response to back to the credit reporting agency.

When the investigation of your credit dispute letter is concluded, the CRA must send you notice of the results of the reinvestigation. The results of the reinvestigation will typically be mailed to you unless you have authorized some other method of notice.  The notice of the results of the reinvestigation should also include notice that you may request a description of the procedure used to determine the accuracy of your disputed
information.  It can be a good idea to request this information from a CRA if incorrect information remains on your credit file or if the source of the information is of dubious origin.  You will also receive notice of the right to have previous users of your credit file notified of the disputed account.  Finally, you also have the right to place a statement of dispute in your credit file describing why you believe a certain item of information is incorrect.  As with the credit dispute letter you send, you will want to keep a copy of the results of the reinvestigation of your dispute letter. If you have many disputes with multiple CRAs, you will probably want to purchase a multi-pocket file folder as your records will become numerous. If your disputed credit report information remains on your credit report following the initial credit dispute letter, I would recommend that you contact an attorney that specializes in credit report litigation.

 

How do I dispute inaccurate Equifax, Trans Union, or Experian credit reports?

Disputing Credit Reports, FAQ, , , ,

Mail a written credit dispute letter along with supporting documentation to the credit reporting agency that reports the inaccurate information.  The letter should include your identifying information (name, date of birth, social security number) , an identification of the inaccurate information, a description why the information is inaccurate, and any documents that support why the information reported is inaccurate.  If you wish to discuss your letter before mailing it to the credit reporting agency, please call me at 703-390-2905. 

The reason you want to send this is information is related to the provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).  Under the FCRA, a consumer must initiate the dispute of an inaccurate credit report directly through a credit reporting agency (CRA) in order to trigger the liability provisions of the act. This means that you must send your credit report dispute letter including documents related to your dispute to the credit reporting agency (typically Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian). You may also want to provide a copy of the dispute to the furnisher of the incorrect information, but providing the information directly to the furnisher will not trigger your right to file a lawsuit.  After the CRA receives the dispute, it has a duty to send a notice of the dispute to the furnisher of the information.  Under the FCRA, both a CRA and a furnisher have a duty to conduct a “reasonable investigation” of the information that you have disputed.  Because reasonableness can often be in the eye of the beholder, certain information will increase the chances that an investigation of your credit report dispute will be resolved in your favor.

First, a good dispute letter should clearly identify your name, address, social security number, and date of birth.  By providing this information, you reduce the chance that the CRA can claim that they could not locate your credit information in their data base.

Second, you should clearly identify the account(s) that you are disputing as well as describe the facts supporting your position why the credit reporting is incorrect.  Often times a CRA can claim that they do not want to resolve disputes between you and a third party furrnisher.  To minimize this argument, you can identify the facts that demonstrate why your position is clearly correct and reference as many documents as necessary to demonstrate why the information reported is inaccurate.  You should also include the supporting documentation as part of your dispute package. Letters, invoices, and/or contracts involving the furnisher of disputed information can make for good proof of your argument.  In the event that you are a victim of identity theft, you should also include an identity theft affidavit, police report, and/or identification of the police report number with the investigating officer named.  For information about dealing with the affects of identity theft, please review this post on what to do if you are an identity theft victim.

Third, include a statement that describes how the inaccurate credit reporting is hurting you and request that the CRA take immediate action to solve your problem.  Whether that means correcting an inaccurate account, deleting a judgment that is not yours, or removing a false criminal conviction from an inaccurate employment credit report, you should request that the CRA stop reporting the inaccurate information.  If you have lost a job because of an inaccurate employment credit report or lost a mortgage because of an inaccurate credit report, I would tell the CRA the details in the dispute letter.

Finally, I recommend that you personally sign your letter, make a copy of the signed letter including the attachments for your records, and mail the letter via both first class mail and certified mail return receipt requested.  The Federal Trade Commission also publishes information that you can consult when disputing inaccurate information which is located at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre21.pdf.  If you ever have any questions, you can also contact me.