Update or Violate!

Have you been trying aimlessly to update your personal information with the credit bureaus? I’m sure the majority of us have been down this road spending countless hours on the phone with Equifax, Experian and Transunion representatives, in often times, failed attempts to get them to take off outdated addresses, multiple name variations, misspelled names, previous employers, etc. In my experience, the conversation with Transunion is relatively easy and the representatives seem non-combatant. They reassure that all outdated information will be updated within 24 hours. To the contrary, Experian for me has been, by far, the most difficult and frustrating to deal with in this situation, stating that if name variations are updated, accounts reporting positively can be deleted as a result, and past addresses that are linked to accounts reporting cannot be deleted. Once we hear this, most of us, begrudgingly accept the answer, and go on thinking there’s nothing else we can do. Ohhh, but there is….

There are several reasons that makes each credit reporting agency liable if they don’t update your personal information upon request, if you find an error in reporting:

1. Creditors and collectors review your credit often to check for changes, such as, credit worthiness, new credit obtained, employment, etc, as long as you are their customer or have an unpaid debt (for new credit pre-screening purposes as well). Collectors also perform skip tracing, which is what is done when they are trying to locate you to settle up for an unpaid debt. If old addresses are reporting and collectors send correspondence to any or all those addresses, this makes you vulnerable for potential identity theft.
2. If there are misspellings of your name and they refuse to update, this could inadvertently cause your credit file to be mixed up with someone else, which could have an adverse effect on your credit score.

Here’s where it gets nice…..

Have you ever received and reviewed thoroughly ‘A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act’? If you haven’t, you can review it here. In the sixth paragraph, you’ll find the statement “You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information.” The credit reporting agency MUST investigate unless your claim is deemed frivolous. However, this could be a violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act, which states, in short, everything has to be accurate and fair. Moreover, the FCRA continues stating, “Consumer reporting agencies MUST correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information.” This must be done within thirty days unless it is found verifiable.

So, there you have it folks! If you contact the credit bureaus and advise them that you would like to update your personal information as it shows on your driver’s license and social security card, but they refuse to update, they have VIOLATED your rights under the FCRA.

If you find that you are unsuccessful and can’t get anywhere with the representatives at Equifax, Experian and Transunion, contact your state Attorney General and CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau).

If you are in need of more information on how to properly repair your credit, the step-by-step process and sample letter templates, get the DIY Credit Repair Guide here.

As always, helping you to #RebuildRestoreRevive.