By HILARY JOHNSON
LOCATE THE CREDIT REPORT MISTAKES
Its Only As Good As…
It is important to note that your credit report is only as good as what your creditors have reported. There are going to be errors on your credit report. Some will matter, some may not. The key here is to notice them and to take action to remove them. When you do this, you will find yourself with an improved report and potentially a higher credit score.
There are going to be mistakes on your credit report.
The number of mistakes is not as important as noticing them. Each of the three credit bureaus legally must take into consideration the information that you provide to them about mistakes. They do not have to make the changes you request unless the credit lender that put the information there is unable to prove that the information is correct.
In the next blog, we’ll outline how to get those mistakes off the report. Before that, though, you need to know what types of mistakes to look for and why you need to remove them.
Don’t skip this step. If you fail to remove all the information that is incorrect on your credit report, you may not be getting it as clean as you could be.
WHY ARE THERE MISTAKES?
Although some people may believe that mistakes on credit reports are deliberate actions by lenders, this is far from the truth, in most cases. In fact, mistakes are just that, mistakes made when someone is typing in information. Nearly all transactions that happen on credit accounts happen through automation.
A computer gets your payment information from a teller who has entered it. This information is reported to the computer holding your account information. The information is then filtered one time per month to the credit bureaus, along with thousands of others’ information. Perhaps one time during this process is an actual person noticing your information.
A mistake can happen from information being put into the computer system wrong, or information being missed. It could be that the credit card company’s machines read your “9” as a “0” and therefore you were not marked as making payment in full for the month. Many potential mistakes can happen.
Spotting Identity Theft
Mistakes can be more severe, though. There are plenty of situations where someone has obtained your personal information and is using it to get credit cards, loans or even driver’s licenses. This is called a stolen identity. While it may not seem like something that happens often, it actually does. In one report by USA Today, it is an estimate that one in four homes have a victim within it from identity theft.
Identity theft is one of the largest problems with credit bureaus today. There are countless cases of individuals struggling to take back their identity, too. The key here is for you to keep track of what is happening with your credit report so that you can report suspicious information to the proper authorities as soon as it becomes noticed. The sooner you spot the problem, the easier it is to remove it.
If You Feel You Have Been A Victim Of Identity Theft
If you feel you have been the victim of identity theft, for virtually any reason, you should report this information to your local police. Most larger cities within the United States now have task forces capable of helping individuals with this type of problem specifically. The key is to get help as soon as you notice the problem.
Report the problem if you notice any of the following on your credit report, especially if more than one instance has occurred:
You notice someone else’s address, or an address you have never lived at, especially out of state information
You have multiple credit accounts or loans that are not yours nor have never been.
You find aliases on your credit report and have any of the above listed problems as well
If you are not sure if you should report the potential identity theft, make your first step working with the credit reporting agency. They can often provide you with the information you need on who obtained the lines of credit.