Your credit report may have some serious errors – here’s what to look out for

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — It’s entirely possible that your credit report has some errors, and those errors can change everything: your mortgage rate, your car loan, even your chances of getting a cell phone.

Below are some ways you can audit your own credit report.

A look at the mistakes

Your credit score is crucial to every financial decision made about you, but a recent Consumer Reports study found that nearly half of people living in the U.S. found errors on their report.

More than one in four of those people found errors serious enough to negatively affect their credit.

“What’s really troubling is that some of these mistakes were financial mistakes, and that means you may have debts that aren’t yours showing up on your credit report,” said Consumer Reports investigative reporter Lisa Gill.

What are some of the most common mistakes?

Gill said the most common errors people reported were mistakes involving their personal information, including addresses, phone numbers and, in some serious cases, Social Security numbers. Some reports even indicated that loans or credit cards were still outstanding.

Other people found evidence of identity theft and unpaid credit card debts.

The study’s findings are consistent with data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which says that incorrect information on credit reports is the number one complaint among consumers.

So what can you do to resolve disputes and keep your credit safe?

“You really have to start with the three credit bureaus and file the claims with them, and they have to investigate, report and ask the financial institutions what’s going on,” Gill said. “We have a customer who says they’ve paid off the loan. Why is it showing that it’s still outstanding?”

Gill said the entire process can take about 30 days, and if it’s not resolved, you can try filing the dispute a second time with the credit bureaus. that does not work, file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The last resort is to file a lawsuit in federal court.

“There are a lot of attorneys who specialize in this, like credit by law in particular,” Gill said. “It sounds drastic, but sometimes it’s the only way to remedy a serious mistake.”

Experts say you should check your credit score frequently to make sure the information is accurate.

You can do this for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. You can also sign up for the free credit score monitoring or credit report service offered by many credit card companies and banks.

Join us every weekday morning on Eyewitness News at 5 a.m. for our new segment, ABC7 On Your Side. John Gregory brings you money-saving tips, including tricks to save on your bills, smart negotiation tactics, and where you can score free stuff.