Your credit report plays a critical role in your financial life. Lenders, landlords, insurers, and even some employers review your credit report when making important decisions about you. Because of this, mistakes on your credit report can harm your ability to borrow money, secure housing, or get a job. Unfortunately, credit reporting errors are more common than most people realize, and these mistakes can go unnoticed for years until they cause real damage. Read on and contact a consumer lawyer from Cook Law to learn about the most common credit report errors and how our firm can help you fix them.

The Seven Most Common Credit Report Errors

Below are some of the most common credit report errors that consumers encounter:

  1. Incorrect personal information: This includes mistakes like misspelled names, wrong addresses, or an incorrect Social Security number. Sometimes, information from another person with a similar name or Social Security number ends up on your report. These errors may seem minor, but they can lead to bigger issues, like your credit file being mixed with someone else’s.
  2. Accounts that do not belong to you: One of the most alarming errors is finding accounts you never opened. These accounts may belong to someone else, or they could be a sign of identity theft. Either way, having unfamiliar accounts on your credit report can significantly lower your credit score and cause lenders to view you as a risk.
  3. Closed accounts reported as open: A loan or credit card that you know you paid off and closed might still appear as open on your credit report. This kind of error can make it look like you have more outstanding debt than you actually do, which could hurt your ability to qualify for new credit.
  4. Duplicate accounts: Sometimes, the same debt is listed more than once. This duplication can happen when a debt is sold to a collection agency or transferred between lenders. If the account appears multiple times, it can make your debt load look larger than it really is.
  5. Incorrect payment history: Your payment history is a major factor in your credit score. A mistake showing a late payment when you paid on time, or showing missed payments that never occurred, can seriously damage your credit. These errors can be difficult to catch unless you review your report carefully.
  6. Outdated information: Credit reporting agencies are required to remove most negative information after a certain period, usually seven years. If old collection accounts or bankruptcies are still showing on your report, they could be unfairly holding down your score.
  7. Incorrect account balances or credit limits: Your report might show the wrong balance or credit limit on a credit card or loan. This kind of error can affect your credit utilization ratio, which in turn can lower your score.

Finding these errors can be frustrating, but you do not have to face them alone. The team here at Cook Law can help you dispute inaccuracies and hold credit reporting agencies accountable. If you have discovered mistakes on your credit report and want to know your legal options, contact our firm today for guidance.