Nearly half of participants in survey found mistakes on their credit reports

(TND) — Nearly half of the people who took part in a check of their credit reports found errors in them, according to Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports teamed with WorkMoney for a survey-based study of credit report accuracy.

This is the third year of the Credit Checkup project.

Ryan Reynolds, a financial fairness policy analyst for Consumer Reports, said Friday that they want to “hammer home the importance of making sure what's on your credit report is accurate.”

Your credit report is the information that goes into calculating your credit score.

Reynolds said that will “dictate so much of what you can do in your financial life,” such as qualifying for a loan or getting a lower rate.

But he said landlords will also check credit reports before renting to a tenant.

“There's plenty of employers that use them in hiring, making hiring decisions,” he said. “So, it's in everyone's best interest to make sure that all the information on your credit report is accurate.”

They saw more instances of errors in personal information, but some folks also found mistakes related to debt information.

Consumer Reports said 44% of those who successfully checked their credit report found at least one mistake.

Just over a third of people said there were errors related to personal information, such as an incorrect name or address.

Over a quarter of people said there were account information errors, such as an account they did not recognize, reports of late or missed payments that they knew had been made, or debts that didn’t belong to them.

Another quarter of survey participants were unable to access their credit reports.

And 11% reported difficulties while accessing their reports.

“The thing that did surprise me was the amount of people that had trouble accessing their report,” Reynolds said.

That’s something he’s experienced himself.

He still can't access his credit report online from Experian via annualcreditreport.com, which is the site Consumer Reports directed survey respondents to use. That’s the website that the credit bureaus maintain to give people their free reports.

“I just kept getting an error message like, ‘A condition exists that prevents ... Experian from fulfilling this request,’” he described.

Errors related to debt information are definitely more damaging, he said. But even mistakes with personal information could result in a mixed file and lead to debt errors.

Consumer complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about credit reports have more than doubled since the Credit Checkup project began in 2021, and reporting errors are the most common reason for those complaints, according to Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports said it and WorkMoney sent letters to Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and the Consumer Data Industry Association, calling on them to ensure credit reports are accurate and urging them to make it easier for people to obtain reports.

If you spot a mistake on your credit report, you can file a dispute with the credit bureau and the furnisher, usually the lender, along with supporting documentation. The bureau will have 30 days to investigate and then to correct, delete or verify the disputed information, according to Consumer Reports.

Reynolds said you should create a paper trail during a dispute. Keep a copy of everything that you send in, and send it by certified mail so you get confirmation of delivery.