{"id":1903,"date":"2021-09-10T13:49:39","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T17:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skypointfcu.com\/wph\/workarea\/?p=1903"},"modified":"2022-06-15T14:20:38","modified_gmt":"2022-06-15T18:20:38","slug":"your-credit-report-may-be-wrong-heres-what-to-do-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skypointfcu.com\/wph\/workarea\/blog\/your-credit-report-may-be-wrong-heres-what-to-do-about-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Credit Report May Be Wrong \u2014 Here\u2019s What to Do About It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Consumers filed complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in record numbers in 2020, according to a report released Monday by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. Credit reporting issues were cited in 282,000, or 63%, of the complaints. The majority noted \u201cincorrect information\u201d on credit reports or \u201cinformation belongs to someone else,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only did complaints about credit report errors lead the list of consumer grievances, but the three major credit-reporting bureaus \u2014 Experian, TransUnion and Equifax \u2014 were the top three companies complained about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Errors can endanger your credit score<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Accuracy matters since credit report errors can suggest identity theft or fraudulent activity on your accounts. And because credit report data provides the raw material for credit scores, errors can lower your score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the volume of complaints may be an unintended consequence of payment accommodations mandated by the 2020 coronavirus relief bill and temporary concessions offered by lenders and credit card issuers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But credit report errors were common even before the pandemic, says Ed Mierzwinski, senior director of the advocacy group\u2019s Federal Consumer Program and author of the report. Payment accommodations may have led more people to check their credit reports and find those errors, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mierzwinski recommends that \u201cany consumer with any credit account\u201d check their credit reports. People who have common names may be at particular risk of a mix-up, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to get your credit reports<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You can get a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus by using AnnualCreditReport.com<\/a>. You\u2019ll be asked to provide personal identifying information \u2014 your name, Social Security number, birthdate and address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will also be asked security questions to verify your identity. Some of those can be tough. If you aren\u2019t able to answer correctly, call 877-322-8228 to request your credit reports by mail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also download and mail a request form<\/a> to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to read your credit reports<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your reports from the three bureaus won\u2019t look exactly the same. Not every creditor reports to all three and the bureaus present information in different formats. But you can use a similar procedure for reading your credit reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, check your identifying information. Errors such as misspellings of a former employer are unimportant, but something like an address you\u2019ve never lived at could suggest identity theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, check account information. Each credit account you have (and some that are closed) should be listed and include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n