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.
Experian, Transunion, and Equifax are the three companies that dominate the credit reporting market, tracking the financial prowess of US consumers. 60 Minutes: 2013 FTC Credit Reporting Study 60 Minutes investigated the stunning number of errors on consumer credit reports and how to make credit report disputes to Equifax, Transunion, and Experian. This information is sold to everyone from employers to insurance companies and creditors.
Looking at it from more of a micro point of view, it is estimated that roughly 19 consumers will fall victim to this crime every minute. On the average, it is approximated that it will take the average casualty 500 dollars and upwards of 30 hours to straighten out each individual account where an identity theft has occurred. Unfortunately, research has revealed that it is becoming more and more ordinary for criminals to actually prey on the individuals that they are closest to, an uncle or a grandparent perhaps.
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.
They're not doing a reasonable investigation," DeWine said. "They're not doing an investigation at all."
Note, there are some pretty horrible stories about getting an agent on the phone who can actually assist if you're rejected online...unless you are a "current customer", not one who has accessed your report via annualcreditreport or via a 3rd party website. It's probably worth the $1 trial, to avoid this just remember to cancel before the 7 days are up, it doesn't impact the investigation.
According to Kroft, "it's extremely unlikely that anyone with the authority to resolve your dispute will ever actually see it."
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.
Experian, Transunion, and Equifax are the three companies that dominate the credit reporting market, tracking the financial prowess of US consumers. 60 Minutes: 2013 FTC Credit Reporting Study 60 Minutes investigated the stunning number of errors on consumer credit reports and how to make credit report disputes to Equifax, Transunion, and Experian. This information is sold to everyone from employers to insurance companies and creditors.
Looking at it from more of a micro point of view, it is estimated that roughly 19 consumers will fall victim to this crime every minute. On the average, it is approximated that it will take the average casualty 500 dollars and upwards of 30 hours to straighten out each individual account where an identity theft has occurred. Unfortunately, research has revealed that it is becoming more and more ordinary for criminals to actually prey on the individuals that they are closest to, an uncle or a grandparent perhaps.
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.
They're not doing a reasonable investigation," DeWine said. "They're not doing an investigation at all."
Note, there are some pretty horrible stories about getting an agent on the phone who can actually assist if you're rejected online...unless you are a "current customer", not one who has accessed your report via annualcreditreport or via a 3rd party website. It's probably worth the $1 trial, to avoid this just remember to cancel before the 7 days are up, it doesn't impact the investigation.
According to Kroft, "it's extremely unlikely that anyone with the authority to resolve your dispute will ever actually see it."
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