Lawmakers Want To Fast Track Rules To Ease Consumers' Correction Of Bad Credit Report Data
from the credibility-and-credit-ability dept
One of the lingering effects of identity theft is the long-term damage it can do to a victim's credit report, mainly because it's extremely difficult to correct wrong information that credit agencies and other personal-data collectors keep. And from the looks of things, it appears that they've got plenty of incorrect information. This is just one issue facing credit agencies, who are coming under fire from consumers and lawmakers for these sorts of issues, while lenders are increasingly unhappy with their practices as well. The credit agencies' response has generally been to circle the wagons and resist any changes, but now there appears to be growing momentum in Congress to force credit bureaus to make it easier for consumers to correct incorrect information on their credit reports, as well as to make efforts to ensure that the companies furnishing credit information are submitting correct info. Unsurprisingly, the credit bureaus say that any new rules are unnecessary, and that the number of errors is declining, though some will be inevitable. It's still hard to believe that these companies would resist measures to make their information more accurate -- unless, of course, so much of it is wrong that exposing the depths of their inaccuracy would be detrimental to their business.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
What else would they be thinking...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
there are no customer rights when it comes to thes
why did my landlord or insurance company have to get a report ???
insurance is based on my health. yet they didnt request health records.
i haven't been late on or missed a rent payment since 1990.
also, the utilitiy companies never asked for a credit report, yet, routinely submit reports "for me".
it is all BS and about money..
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: there are no customer rights when it comes to thes
I HAVE HAD HARTFORD AUTO INSURANCE FOR A YEAR. WHEN IT CAME TIME TO RENEW FOR THE SECOND YEAR MY RATE WAS INCREASED BY OVER 100 DOLLARS. MIND YOU I HAVE BEEN DRIVING FOR 50 YEARS AND HAVE NEVER BEEN IN A WRECK OR FILED A CLAIM OF ANY KIND. WHY THE INCREASE??SIMPLE THE FUCKS AT HARTFORD INSURANCE RAN ME THRU THE CREDIT BUREAU AND SAW THERE OPENING TO FUCK ME OUT OF MORE MONEY. WHAT DOES MY CREDIT HAVE TO DO WITH MY DRIVING RECORD?? OK LETS HEAR IT YOU BRILLIANT CORPORATE MONEY FUCKS.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Bad link in article
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Bad link in article
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
8 years?
They're only allowed to keep reporting on it for 7 years after the last activity on the account. At this point it should have already fallen off. If it hasn't, all it should take is a certified letter to each of the agencies pointing out that they are reporting data that is over 7 years old and it should go away. The only problem would be if there were collection, payment, or other activity related to the account since then, since that resets the clock.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
A Positive Ending
Meanwhile, 3 weeks later, I got a new, completely clean credit report in the mail, with no hassle of any kind. So sometimes the system works! It could stand a bit of transparency, but I'm amazed I'm not still fighting.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Not really
This is an incorrect statement. The 7 year clock starts from the time that you first default on the loan. My brother had an account that did not go to collections for 6 months after he defaulted he later settled with the collection company years after and it was removed from his report 7 years from the date he FIRST defaulted
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]