Got a question about credit? ...shh, unspoken words speak volumes!
Denise Richardson
August 01, 2007
It’s widely reported that 79 percent of all credit reports contain some type of error. These errors can block a consumer from obtaining employment, housing or affordable interest rates and insurance premiums.
Inaccuracies can create the appearance of a consumer having "too much" credit available, being over-extended, and ultimately, falsely, as a poor credit risk. Often times the consumer is unaware there is even a problem contained in their credit reports until they apply for credit and the fun begins! Aside from inaccuracies, we now have to be concerned with monitoring our credit reports for fraudulent activity caused by fraud and identity theft -the fastest growing crime in America.
Many common errors found in credit reports include:
inaccurate personal information such as misspelled names, wrong Social Security numbers, inaccurate birth dates, inaccurate information about a spouse and out of date address and employment information
"closed" accounts listed as "open
Reports that duplicate same mortgage or loans. This mistake is common and often occurs when loans are serviced or sold
Co-mingling of credit belonging to someone one with a similar name (or family member)
Notations of late fees for accounts that were paid on time
Bogus debt collection accounts on debts that are now owed or even known of
How is it possible so many mistakes continue to plague our credit files? Shh, listen...often times, it’s what we don’t hear that can point to the real problems.
The Top 10 Things You Will Never Hear From The Big 3 Credit Bureaus...
10. A human voice telling you... Come right into our local office for immediate assistance!
9. You’re right …we’re wrong and we apologize!
8. It’s your credit score...so we’re not going to make you pay for it anymore!
7. We know your time is valuable. We are no longer going to make you work for us as an unpaid credit bureau employee –we’re going to hire our own employees and pay them to do our own work! It’s a totally new concept!
6. We admit our system is broken. We’re going to stop blaming others and actually fix it!
5. Yes, your documentation can prove your innocence, so we are implementing brand
new procedures that will now ensure we actually read your disputes and forward to the creditors who will immediately fix the problem! Again…new concept!
4. Yes, that's right...now that I am reading the documentation you provided, I can clearly see your credit report is riddled with errors -most are you know! But...we’re going to remove those pesky old accounts right now. And, why don’t we compensate you for the 400+ hours you've already wasted trying to fix these errors?
3. You’re right our current commercials neglect to mention where you can get the legitimate, truly, real “free” annual credit reports! We’ll run public service announcements.
2. We’re going to get serious about doing our part to fix this nasty identity theft problem. We recognize we are in control of your livelihoods and we’re going to be more responsible.
1. Uh...no, we’re not really God –sometimes we just role-play!
If we listen, often times it's the unspoken words that provide the real answers to our questions.
Inaccuracies can create the appearance of a consumer having "too much" credit available, being over-extended, and ultimately, falsely, as a poor credit risk. Often times the consumer is unaware there is even a problem contained in their credit reports until they apply for credit and the fun begins! Aside from inaccuracies, we now have to be concerned with monitoring our credit reports for fraudulent activity caused by fraud and identity theft -the fastest growing crime in America.
Many common errors found in credit reports include:
inaccurate personal information such as misspelled names, wrong Social Security numbers, inaccurate birth dates, inaccurate information about a spouse and out of date address and employment information
"closed" accounts listed as "open
Reports that duplicate same mortgage or loans. This mistake is common and often occurs when loans are serviced or sold
Co-mingling of credit belonging to someone one with a similar name (or family member)
Notations of late fees for accounts that were paid on time
Bogus debt collection accounts on debts that are now owed or even known of
How is it possible so many mistakes continue to plague our credit files? Shh, listen...often times, it’s what we don’t hear that can point to the real problems.
The Top 10 Things You Will Never Hear From The Big 3 Credit Bureaus...
10. A human voice telling you... Come right into our local office for immediate assistance!
9. You’re right …we’re wrong and we apologize!
8. It’s your credit score...so we’re not going to make you pay for it anymore!
7. We know your time is valuable. We are no longer going to make you work for us as an unpaid credit bureau employee –we’re going to hire our own employees and pay them to do our own work! It’s a totally new concept!
6. We admit our system is broken. We’re going to stop blaming others and actually fix it!
5. Yes, your documentation can prove your innocence, so we are implementing brand
new procedures that will now ensure we actually read your disputes and forward to the creditors who will immediately fix the problem! Again…new concept!
4. Yes, that's right...now that I am reading the documentation you provided, I can clearly see your credit report is riddled with errors -most are you know! But...we’re going to remove those pesky old accounts right now. And, why don’t we compensate you for the 400+ hours you've already wasted trying to fix these errors?
3. You’re right our current commercials neglect to mention where you can get the legitimate, truly, real “free” annual credit reports! We’ll run public service announcements.
2. We’re going to get serious about doing our part to fix this nasty identity theft problem. We recognize we are in control of your livelihoods and we’re going to be more responsible.
1. Uh...no, we’re not really God –sometimes we just role-play!
If we listen, often times it's the unspoken words that provide the real answers to our questions.