Common Credit Report Problems

Many people don’t get an inkling that something is amiss and they have credit score problems until their credit card interest rate skyrockets or they’re denied a loan, a job, or an insurance policy. Others routinely check for credit score problems and catch credit report problems as they arise. Either way, credit report problems are more common than you might think – more than 15 million errors are detected each year by people just like you. Here are some of the most common problems, and any one of them can be the result of either common clerical error or the more serious problem of identity theft:

• Identity Mix-Up: Many credit report problems are due to a clerical error where someone transposed a digit in a social security number or a creditor confused you with another consumer with the same name.
• Inaccurate Payment History: Your credit report may indicate that you made a late payment, when in fact you’ve never been late on a payment.
• Closed Accounts: Your credit report may show that you have open accounts, even if you closed those accounts years ago.
• Non-Existent Accounts: If your credit report lists accounts that you’ve never opened, it can be the result of a clerical error. However it’s important to check and make sure it wasn’t opened by someone else.
• Identity Theft: If your credit report is rife with errors, it could be that a criminal has used your personal information to open lines of credit or engage in other types of financial fraud.

If you have been adversely impacted by an erroneous credit report, you could have a legal cause of action. An attorney with experience in fair credit practices can file suit on your behalf against credit reporting agencies, creditors, and debt collectors who report false information.