Protecting Your Right to Have Fair Credit Reporting

By: Lance T. Denha, Esq.

The Federal Trade Commission has found that millions of Americans have serious errors on their credit reports. These errors can severely inhibit a consumer’s ability to get an affordable loan, rent an apartment, or even find a job. In fact, according to a recent study by the Federal Trade Commission, it has discovered the following:

• The ‘big three’ nationwide credit reporting agencies are Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian have each varied widely in how they responded to complaints. Equifax responded to 63 percent of its complaints with non-monetary relief, while Experian did so in only 5 percent of cases and Trans Union in 22 percent. Equifax provided monetary or non-monetary relief nearly three times as often as Trans Union and more than 10 times as often as Experian.

• The most complained-about credit reporting agency nationwide is Experian, followed by Equifax and Trans Union.

• By far, the most common problem was incorrect information on a credit report, which accounted for 65 percent of complaints.

• Consumers disputed the companies’ responses in about 18 percent of all complaints.

It is imperative that one check his or her credit often to make certain all of the information is reported correctly. If it appears that an error remains on a credit report, and the error resulted in the credit reporting agencies failure to follow reasonable procedures that are in place to remove errors despite repeated requests to do so, then they are subject to a lawsuit.

In assessing whether a lawsuit can be initiated against credit reporting agencies, I recommend discussing your situation with a consumer attorney to help assist in getting such errors removed from your credit report.