The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new data about consumer complaints noted a dramatic rise in credit report complaints from the year 2018 to 2021. The main issue was ‘inaccurate information’ in consumers' reports. Every one in four consumers has an error in his credit report.
The common mistakes in reports include the failure to update debts as having been paid off, mixed and merged files (where the record included information from accounts or debt that did not belong to them), and inaccurate personal information. These errors can cause serious harm to consumers, reducing their creditworthiness and making them look like a bigger credit risk than they actually are.
“The real reasons for the problems are the same as they were years ago: humongous data, speed over accuracy, and no incentives for providing accurate reports,” said Lyle Sloman, a principal attorney at Oak View Law Group to The Street. Credit reporting agencies receive data from different sources like banks, credit card companies, creditors, public filings, and court records. When it comes to size and speed, the bureaus maintain over 200 million consumers’ files, and each month, they update more than 1 billion pieces of data adhering to the requirement of a speedy system.
Most data received from the furnishers is inaccurate when it comes to the credit bureau so quickly. There’s not enough money to incentivize those who supply the data to provide more accurate information, according to the Brookings Institute Report. Therefore, the system is the problem, and mistakes by credit agencies are inevitable.
It is not the credit bureaus, but it becomes the consumers’ responsibility to check the accuracy of their credit reports to avoid any serious consequences from arising. The law has set in place ramifications in case you are harmed by errors of inaccuracy on your credit report. If you discover mistakes, you have a legal right to dispute and have the information corrected. If the credit bureau fails to do so, you can sue them.
However, you don't have to take on the credit bureaus by yourself. If you find any mistakes or unfavorable information in your credit report, contact an attorney who can guide you and represent you in disputing the errors, clearing your record, and obtaining compensation for the harm that has been inflicted on you.
Contact Tariq Law, PC, and we can help!
