Why Having a Credit Monitoring Service Is Important
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.
I was also concerned about a leasing account appearing as active that had been closed six months earlier. These both only appeared on my Experian report which I obtained via the free annual credit report link above. I wasn't freaking out about fraudulently use as I didn't see any accounts that I hadn't personally opened. However, I was fully prepared for an upward fight after watching the 60 Minutes piece and reading some Experian horror stories online. The first step involved visiting Experian's dispute website. Step 1 - Selecting which type of credit report you have. PROBLEM 1 - the annual credit report doesn't have a report number. After doing some Google research it seems that some Experian free annual reports print with the number while others don't. Mine didn't have the number, so I selected that option. You also must have a report that is no older than 90 days if you want to open a dispute, otherwise you'll need to purchase a new one (more on that below). Step 2 - I was then asked to select which of the reports my report looked like.
When I did that, I was again asked for the non existing report number. After more Googling, I learned that tons of consumers have had the same problem and gotten absolutely no where online. They were forced to call in for assistance. Something I was very hesitant about after watching the piece showing all calls being routed to Mumbai. Step 3- They win, I decided to just purchase a $1.00 7 day free trial so that I could have a fresh report with a report number. Now this is going to be easy right? Step 4 - Wrong! After receiving my new report, I returned back to the dispute site and selected the option that I had a credit report number.
The research also revealed that 20% of victims were exploited by a close friend, a neighbor or an in house employee. Usually only about 27% of identity theft happenings actually center around financial or credit card fraud. The more common forms here seem to center more around bank, employment, utility or phone fraud which actually account for roughly 50% of identity theft cases. On a more positive note here, it has been proven time and time again that if the criminal act of identity theft is caught in the early stages, the likelihood of any real significant financial damage becomes a lot less. Lastly, and on another positive note, lending agencies and financial institutions like banks, credit unions or creditors, will normally only hold the member accountable to pay back the initial 50 dollars of the criminal charges.
They're not doing a reasonable investigation," DeWine said. "They're not doing an investigation at all."
Credit reporting agencies are being accused of stonewalling customers who are desperate to correct errors. DeWine said the problem isn't making mistakes, but a refusal to fix them. 60 Minutes: Credit Report Customer Service About eight million consumers file disputes every year, visiting the credit reporting websites to begin the process, if they can first navigate sales pitches for financial products offered by the companies. Steve Kroft called a customer service number and got a call center in India, where he was not given much help after a 15-minute phone call to a toll-free number. What about that post office box number?
Step 6 - 12 days later I received an email from Experian that indicated that there was an outcome to the investigation. I was instructed to access a special dispute site. Step 7 - Shocking success - The address was deleted and the leasing account was updated to indicate closure! Conclusion - Finding the right way to actually dispute items on my Experian report was a challenge, but the actual process worked and was dare I say timely...perhaps I was just lucky. What has your experience been? Nightmarish?
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.
I was also concerned about a leasing account appearing as active that had been closed six months earlier. These both only appeared on my Experian report which I obtained via the free annual credit report link above. I wasn't freaking out about fraudulently use as I didn't see any accounts that I hadn't personally opened. However, I was fully prepared for an upward fight after watching the 60 Minutes piece and reading some Experian horror stories online. The first step involved visiting Experian's dispute website. Step 1 - Selecting which type of credit report you have. PROBLEM 1 - the annual credit report doesn't have a report number. After doing some Google research it seems that some Experian free annual reports print with the number while others don't. Mine didn't have the number, so I selected that option. You also must have a report that is no older than 90 days if you want to open a dispute, otherwise you'll need to purchase a new one (more on that below). Step 2 - I was then asked to select which of the reports my report looked like.
When I did that, I was again asked for the non existing report number. After more Googling, I learned that tons of consumers have had the same problem and gotten absolutely no where online. They were forced to call in for assistance. Something I was very hesitant about after watching the piece showing all calls being routed to Mumbai. Step 3- They win, I decided to just purchase a $1.00 7 day free trial so that I could have a fresh report with a report number. Now this is going to be easy right? Step 4 - Wrong! After receiving my new report, I returned back to the dispute site and selected the option that I had a credit report number.
The research also revealed that 20% of victims were exploited by a close friend, a neighbor or an in house employee. Usually only about 27% of identity theft happenings actually center around financial or credit card fraud. The more common forms here seem to center more around bank, employment, utility or phone fraud which actually account for roughly 50% of identity theft cases. On a more positive note here, it has been proven time and time again that if the criminal act of identity theft is caught in the early stages, the likelihood of any real significant financial damage becomes a lot less. Lastly, and on another positive note, lending agencies and financial institutions like banks, credit unions or creditors, will normally only hold the member accountable to pay back the initial 50 dollars of the criminal charges.
They're not doing a reasonable investigation," DeWine said. "They're not doing an investigation at all."
Credit reporting agencies are being accused of stonewalling customers who are desperate to correct errors. DeWine said the problem isn't making mistakes, but a refusal to fix them. 60 Minutes: Credit Report Customer Service About eight million consumers file disputes every year, visiting the credit reporting websites to begin the process, if they can first navigate sales pitches for financial products offered by the companies. Steve Kroft called a customer service number and got a call center in India, where he was not given much help after a 15-minute phone call to a toll-free number. What about that post office box number?
Step 6 - 12 days later I received an email from Experian that indicated that there was an outcome to the investigation. I was instructed to access a special dispute site. Step 7 - Shocking success - The address was deleted and the leasing account was updated to indicate closure! Conclusion - Finding the right way to actually dispute items on my Experian report was a challenge, but the actual process worked and was dare I say timely...perhaps I was just lucky. What has your experience been? Nightmarish?
About the Author:
The indicated contributor is very knowledgeable about transunion dispute letter. Please check out at their web page for more relevant information.
No comments:
Post a Comment