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You’re Bob Sacramento, Jr., and you decide to pull up your credit report. To your surprise, you find that your report also contains the credit history of your father, Bob Sacramento, Sr. You two obviously are different people with different financial histories and separate social security numbers, so how could this happen? Depending on your situation, a number of factors might be at play, but the most likely explanation is that the credit bureau simply made a mistake. Credit report errors are disconcertingly common; in fact, a recent survey found that 79% of credit reports contain errors, 25% of which are serious enough to result in the denial of credit. Based on this fact, it’s most probable that the offending credit bureau just mixed you and your father up somehow, and now the onus is on you to straighten the situation out, even though it wasn’t your mistake.
Possible Explanations
In the credit bureau’s defense, another explanation does exist for the merging of your credit reports. If your father co-signed on a loan for you or listed you as an additional cardholder on a credit card in his name, you would both appear on each other’s credit history. However, if this were the case, the loan or account you took out together should only represent one line on your credit report. You shouldn’t have your father’s entire credit history masquerading as your own just because he co-signed on one loan.
When the Credit Bureaus Err
Savvy consumers know that credit bureaus err on a regular basis, especially when it comes to the demographic portion of credit reports. Indeed, the demographic section is the portion of the credit report most likely to contain errors—an estimated 54% of credit reports contain erroneous personal information. In the Jr./Sr. scenario we proposed earlier, it’s entirely possible that the bureau simply conflated Jr.’s identity with Sr.’s, and the credit report reflects this mistake. When things like that happen, the consumer must dispute the error with the bureau(s) in writing. To dispute credit report errors, here is what you will need to do:
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Put it in writing. Write a letter to the credit bureau(s) stating the nature of the error and include copies of documents to support your position. The letter should contain your full name and address and also clearly explain the error, why you’re disputing it, and your desire to have it removed or corrected. Send the letter to the bureau via certified mail with a return receipt requested. Keep copies of all documentation for your files. The credit bureau then must investigate the situation within 30 days and inform you of the outcome. If changes are made to your credit report, the bureau is required to send you notice of them along with a revised copy of your credit report.
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Take it up with the individual creditors. In addition to putting your dispute in writing for the credit bureau, you will also need to do so with the creditor or creditors in question. Whatever accounts contain errors, you will need to write to the lenders that manage the accounts and detail the nature of your dispute, your contact information, and copies of documents to corroborate your claim. Again, keep copies of all correspondence for your records. If you are found to be correct, the creditor cannot legally report the spurious information again.
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