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.
60 Minutes: Experian Vs Transunion Vs Equifax "A mistake on your credit report can cost you money," Kroft noted, citing loan interest rates, car financing, mortgages, and even job searches or security clearances. A new government study concluded that 40 million Americans have mistakes on their reports, and about half of those mistakes are serious. A 60 Minutes investigation found that it is almost impossible in some cases to get those mistakes cleared up.
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.
When I did that, I was again asked for the non existing report number. After more Googling, I learned that tons of consumers have had the same problem and gotten absolutely no where online. They were forced to call in for assistance. Something I was very hesitant about after watching the piece showing all calls being routed to Mumbai. Step 3- They win, I decided to just purchase a $1.00 7 day free trial so that I could have a fresh report with a report number. Now this is going to be easy right? Step 4 - Wrong! After receiving my new report, I returned back to the dispute site and selected the option that I had a credit report number.
The research also revealed that 20% of victims were exploited by a close friend, a neighbor or an in house employee. Usually only about 27% of identity theft happenings actually center around financial or credit card fraud. The more common forms here seem to center more around bank, employment, utility or phone fraud which actually account for roughly 50% of identity theft cases. On a more positive note here, it has been proven time and time again that if the criminal act of identity theft is caught in the early stages, the likelihood of any real significant financial damage becomes a lot less. Lastly, and on another positive note, lending agencies and financial institutions like banks, credit unions or creditors, will normally only hold the member accountable to pay back the initial 50 dollars of the criminal charges.
They're not doing a reasonable investigation," DeWine said. "They're not doing an investigation at all."
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?
60 Minutes: Experian Vs Transunion Vs Equifax "A mistake on your credit report can cost you money," Kroft noted, citing loan interest rates, car financing, mortgages, and even job searches or security clearances. A new government study concluded that 40 million Americans have mistakes on their reports, and about half of those mistakes are serious. A 60 Minutes investigation found that it is almost impossible in some cases to get those mistakes cleared up.
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.
When I did that, I was again asked for the non existing report number. After more Googling, I learned that tons of consumers have had the same problem and gotten absolutely no where online. They were forced to call in for assistance. Something I was very hesitant about after watching the piece showing all calls being routed to Mumbai. Step 3- They win, I decided to just purchase a $1.00 7 day free trial so that I could have a fresh report with a report number. Now this is going to be easy right? Step 4 - Wrong! After receiving my new report, I returned back to the dispute site and selected the option that I had a credit report number.
The research also revealed that 20% of victims were exploited by a close friend, a neighbor or an in house employee. Usually only about 27% of identity theft happenings actually center around financial or credit card fraud. The more common forms here seem to center more around bank, employment, utility or phone fraud which actually account for roughly 50% of identity theft cases. On a more positive note here, it has been proven time and time again that if the criminal act of identity theft is caught in the early stages, the likelihood of any real significant financial damage becomes a lot less. Lastly, and on another positive note, lending agencies and financial institutions like banks, credit unions or creditors, will normally only hold the member accountable to pay back the initial 50 dollars of the criminal charges.
They're not doing a reasonable investigation," DeWine said. "They're not doing an investigation at all."
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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