Check Your Credit Score — Your Credit Report May Contain These Errors

You may want to check your credit report at present for these errors.

Here’s what you need to know — and how to increase your credit score.

Credit score

A new survey of consumer reports showing staggering errors on credit reports that could hurt your credit score. Here are some highlights:

• Errors in the credit report: 34% of consumers said they found at least one error in their credit report.
• Incorrect personal information: 29% of consumers found personal information errors on their credit reports, such as the wrong name or address, with more than half of those errors being incorrect addresses.
• Credit accounts that are not theirs: 11% of consumers found account information errors, the most common being accounts appearing on their credit reports that they did not recognize.
• The accounts were meant to be forgiving (but weren’t): 15% of consumers who reported having forborne accounts found that one or more of those accounts were not flagged as “current” as required by the CARES Act. For example, student loan repayments have been suspended, but are expected to resume from October 1, 2021.

Credit Reports: 4 Most Common Debt Mistakes

Here are the four most common debt-related errors on credit reports:

1. Unrecognized account: 41%
2. Unrecognized debt reported to collections: 26%
3. Payment incorrectly reported as late: 23%
4. Payment incorrectly reported as Completely Missed: 12%

According to consumer reports, when debt is reported in error such as in collections or reported late, your credit score may be lowered by up to 100 points.

Credit Reports: 3 Most Common Personal Information Mistakes

Here are the three most common errors related to personal information on credit reports:

1. Wrong address: 56%
2. Misspelled name: 33%
3. Bad name: 17%

How to fix errors on your credit report

How do you fix errors on your credit report? Here’s what you need to know:

1. Free credit reports: During the Covid-19 pandemic, the three major credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – will provide you with a free credit report each week. This is available until April 20, 2022. You can also visit FreeAnnualCreditReport.com to access a free credit report from each credit bureau.
2. File a complaint with the credit bureau: To correct an error on your credit report, you must file a complaint with each of the three major credit bureaus. It is not enough to file a complaint with just one credit bureau, as each acts independently. Make sure your complaint is in writing.
3. File a complaint with the CFPB: If your problem is not resolved with one or more credit bureaus, you can also contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and file a complaint.

If your credit score was lowered incorrectly due to one or more errors, correcting those errors may increase your credit score.

Personal Finance: Related Reading

Biden Will Consider Student Loan Forgiveness—Here Are 5 Potential Changes

4 ways Biden is enacting student loan forgiveness

Democrats propose canceling student loans with 4 changes

Student loan cancellation faces major setback