3 Ways to Avoid Credit Report Errors

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60 Minutes recently ran a stunning expose of credit score errors at the top 3 reporting bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. A whopping 40 million Americans have errors on their credit report that negatively affect their score. That’s 1 out of every 5 Americans with a credit report!

Unfortunately, that’s not the worst part. The process of fixing errors in your credit report is unfortunately a near-futile process that has taken — according to 60 Minutes — some up to 6 years to correct due to bureaucracy at the credit bureaus.

Can this ridiculousness be avoided? Perhaps not completely. But here are 3 ways to stay on top of and potentially prevent these bureaucratic errors from happening to you.

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[/s2If] [s2If is_user_logged_in()]60 Minutes recently ran a stunning expose of credit score errors at the top 3 reporting bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. A whopping 40 million Americans have errors on their credit report that negatively affect their score. That’s 1 out of every 5 Americans with a credit report!

Unfortunately, that’s not the worst part. The process of fixing errors in your credit report is unfortunately a near-futile process that has taken — according to 60 Minutes — some up to 6 years to correct due to bureaucracy at the credit bureaus.

Can this ridiculousness be avoided? Perhaps not completely. But here are 3 ways to stay on top of and potentially prevent these bureaucratic errors from happening to you.

1. Proactively monitor your credit report for errors. You’re entitled to a free report from each bureau each year. Every 4 months, request a free report from the government-sponsored site annualcreditreport.com.

If you’re willing to pay a fee, American Express has a service called Credit Secure that will email you when your credit score changes.

2. Protect your identity. If a person opens a card using your Social Security number or other personal information, nip that in the bud immediately. Or, if unusual activity is logged against your name, that also needs to be corrected quickly.

LifeLock has a service that will notify you and work with you in the event that occurrences like the above happen.

3. If you find an error, escalate it immediately. Don’t just call the bureau to report the error. According to the 60 Minutes report, you may not make any quick progress going through a bureau’s standard “error reporting” channels.

Involve your local congress person, and send a letter to your senator. Tell the local media if you’re not making any progress. Shine as bright a light on your problem as possible so that the bureau in question is held accountable by more than one person to fix your error.

Note that Price Capital is not compensated for mentioning any of these services. Other equally useful services may exist. Please perform due diligence and talk with an advisor to understand what is appropriate in your situation.
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