What are Credit Reports?

Credit Reports are part of a system used to provide information to creditors about potential borrowers and how creditworthy they are. These reports provide a useful way to take into account the potential borrower’s history and their track record when making payments. Many businesses rely on this type of information to make lending and other credit decisions, usually provided by consumer reporting agencies or the credit bureau.

Credit Report Errors are Common.

However, credit reports can have errors that can cause considerable damage to consumers and their personal reports.

Inaccurate reports can be devastating for consumers. Good credit saves consumers money by resulting in credit opportunities with better interest rates, but poor credit leads to many downfalls, including high-interest rates on mortgages and auto loans and credit cards, or even denial on loans. Some cases may even cause and individual to be denied employment or renting opportunities.

Even though these credit report errors are quite common, many consumers are unaware that they even exist, and that the law enables them to have the information corrected. In some cases, consumers with significant errors on credit reports are even warranted compensation.

How Do Credit Report Errors Happen?

Errors in credit reports are caused by a variety of reasons:

• A consumer reporting agency (CRA) may cause errors when files are mixed or merged. This might happen when individuals have similar names, addresses or other identification and the files are unintentionally merged.
• Other times, creditors can accidentally misreport information about a consumer, saying they made a late payment when it was on time, or reporting an incorrect balance.
• Identity theft is also a possible cause of errors in credit reports. Creditors will report information about a consumer that appears correct even though the consumer was not actually responsible due to identity theft.

The federal law requires CRA’s to implement practices that guarantee “maximum possible accuracy” of information listed in credit reports. When false information is reported, CRA’s are required to look into it and fix any issues or discrepancies.

When CRA’s fail to meet this standard or false information is reported, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) provides ways to keep consumers safe and fix the errors; however, consumers must take action themselves to ensure that the mistakes are fixed.

HOW WE CAN HELP

Getting an attorney can help sort out the errors and restore accuracy to a faulty credit report. In many cases, you won’t be responsible for paying the attorney’s fees, as they can be covered as part of a lawsuit. Either way, you are protected by law. You can have your credit report errors corrected and receive compensation if you have a knowledgeable attorney on your side.

Our partner attorneys can help fix credit report mistakes and litigate cases where the FCRA is not met or mistakes are not fixed. Since this may include lawsuits, it is a good idea to have a skilled attorney from our team by your side so you get the proper changes made and receive the compensation that you may be entitled to.