The Associated Press reported that 1 in 4 consumers found an error in a credit report issued by a major agency, according to a government study released Monday.
The Federal Trade Commission study also said that 5 percent of the consumers identified errors in their reports that could lead to them paying more for mortgages, auto loans or other financial products.
The study looked at reports for 1,001 consumers issued by the three major agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The FTC says the findings underline the importance of consumers checking their credit reports.
Consumers are entitled to a free copy of their credit report each year from each of the three major reporting agencies. To find out more about obtaining a credit report, click on one of the links below:
The FTC study also found that 20 percent of consumers had an error that was corrected by a reporting agency after the consumer disputed it. About 10 percent of consumers had their credit score changed after a reporting agency corrected errors in their reports.
The FTC study showed that the proportion of credit reports with errors that could increase the rates consumers would pay was small. Published interest rates generally reflect rates that are offered to consumers with the best credit scores.
The new U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau CFPB) has the authority to write and enforce rules for the credit reporting industry. In September the agency began ongoing monitoring of the credit agencies’ compliance. It’s the first time they have faced such close federal oversight.
The CFPB is accepting complaints from consumers who discover incorrect information on their reports or have trouble getting mistakes corrected. The agencies have 15 days to respond to the complaints with a plan for fixing the problem; consumers can dispute that response.
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