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Back in February, I remember watching a report on 60 Minutes titled 40 Million Mistakes: Is your credit report accurate? The piece focused on a study that indicated that as many as 40 million consumers have a mistake on their credit reports. Correspondent Steve Kroft talked to several individuals who discussed just how hard it is to get any of the credit bureaus to fix mistakes, especially Experian.
Now, I'm actually someone who checks their credit report quite often. Every time I do a churn, usually every 90 days, I'll run a copy of my credit report and credit scores. Remember, you can get your free TransUnion score from CreditKarma and your free Experian score from Credit Sesame. Don't forget that you are also entitled to a free credit report each year from the 3 major credit reporting bureaus, thanks to Uncle Sam. I've actually been lucky enough to never find any mistakes on my reports...that is until my recent April churn. I noted an incorrect address, one that I had never lived at but was listed as a residence.
Like previously mentioned, identity theft is in fact the fastest growing crime in the United States today. The Federal Trade Commission reported that the number of identity theft occurrences exceeded over 9 million last year.
But an eight-year study by the Federal Trade Commission, released February 11 2013, put the industry under the microscope. FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz called the findings troubling, with 20% of Americans having errors on their credit reports. About one in 10 has an error that would negatively affect the consumer's score.
After entering the number I was instructed that "online disputes are not available for your account due to security precautions, please call our customer service team for assistance". UGH! Step 5 - I thought this would be the most difficult part of the process, but it was quite painless. As a current customer (remember that 7 day free trial), I was routed right away to an agent and told them that I wanted to open a dispute, but was not able to online.
The agent was definitely American and he seemed apologetic and happy to help. He asked what exactly I wanted to dispute and had me hold for about three minutes. He then came back and said that I should receive an email response within 14-21 days. I didn't expect much and after reading other horror stories, I anticipated calling back in after three weeks passed.
Credit reporting agencies are being accused of stonewalling customers who are desperate to correct errors. DeWine said the problem isn't making mistakes, but a refusal to fix them. 60 Minutes: Credit Report Customer Service About eight million consumers file disputes every year, visiting the credit reporting websites to begin the process, if they can first navigate sales pitches for financial products offered by the companies. Steve Kroft called a customer service number and got a call center in India, where he was not given much help after a 15-minute phone call to a toll-free number. What about that post office box number?
Step 6 - 12 days later I received an email from Experian that indicated that there was an outcome to the investigation. I was instructed to access a special dispute site. Step 7 - Shocking success - The address was deleted and the leasing account was updated to indicate closure! Conclusion - Finding the right way to actually dispute items on my Experian report was a challenge, but the actual process worked and was dare I say timely...perhaps I was just lucky. What has your experience been? Nightmarish?
Now, I'm actually someone who checks their credit report quite often. Every time I do a churn, usually every 90 days, I'll run a copy of my credit report and credit scores. Remember, you can get your free TransUnion score from CreditKarma and your free Experian score from Credit Sesame. Don't forget that you are also entitled to a free credit report each year from the 3 major credit reporting bureaus, thanks to Uncle Sam. I've actually been lucky enough to never find any mistakes on my reports...that is until my recent April churn. I noted an incorrect address, one that I had never lived at but was listed as a residence.
Like previously mentioned, identity theft is in fact the fastest growing crime in the United States today. The Federal Trade Commission reported that the number of identity theft occurrences exceeded over 9 million last year.
But an eight-year study by the Federal Trade Commission, released February 11 2013, put the industry under the microscope. FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz called the findings troubling, with 20% of Americans having errors on their credit reports. About one in 10 has an error that would negatively affect the consumer's score.
After entering the number I was instructed that "online disputes are not available for your account due to security precautions, please call our customer service team for assistance". UGH! Step 5 - I thought this would be the most difficult part of the process, but it was quite painless. As a current customer (remember that 7 day free trial), I was routed right away to an agent and told them that I wanted to open a dispute, but was not able to online.
The agent was definitely American and he seemed apologetic and happy to help. He asked what exactly I wanted to dispute and had me hold for about three minutes. He then came back and said that I should receive an email response within 14-21 days. I didn't expect much and after reading other horror stories, I anticipated calling back in after three weeks passed.
Credit reporting agencies are being accused of stonewalling customers who are desperate to correct errors. DeWine said the problem isn't making mistakes, but a refusal to fix them. 60 Minutes: Credit Report Customer Service About eight million consumers file disputes every year, visiting the credit reporting websites to begin the process, if they can first navigate sales pitches for financial products offered by the companies. Steve Kroft called a customer service number and got a call center in India, where he was not given much help after a 15-minute phone call to a toll-free number. What about that post office box number?
Step 6 - 12 days later I received an email from Experian that indicated that there was an outcome to the investigation. I was instructed to access a special dispute site. Step 7 - Shocking success - The address was deleted and the leasing account was updated to indicate closure! Conclusion - Finding the right way to actually dispute items on my Experian report was a challenge, but the actual process worked and was dare I say timely...perhaps I was just lucky. What has your experience been? Nightmarish?
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