Four Consumer Reporting Agency Fictions
http://www.thearticleblogs.com/articles/34145/1/Four-Consumer-Reporting-Agency-Fictions/Page1.html
Stuart Hunter
Providing credit repair services since 1991, Lexington Law has helped over 500,000 clients legally take on their credit. Last year alone, Lexington Law helped clients remove over 600,000 negative items from their credit reports. By Stuart Hunter
Published on 01/16/2009
They exert tremendous power over your life - and the lives of every other bill-paying American adult. But what do you really know about the main three credit bureaus?
Credit Bureaus: Fact and Fiction
They wield enormous power over your life - and the lives of every other bill-paying American adult who cares about their credit. But how much do you really know about the main three credit bureaus? Friend or foe? Fact or fiction?
Survey after survey suggests that the average American knows very little about the credit bureaus other than that they essentially control consumer credit profiles - and as a result, their purchasing power. And that is how the credit bureaus want it, argues Dr. Randy Padawer, a clinical psychologist whose research into consumer credit has been featured in Smart Money Magazine and the bestselling FICO 850 seminar for The Motley Fool.
"The three major credit bureaus truly want consumers to believe that they've each been blessed with an officially sanctioned franchise," says Padawer, who has consulted for Lexington Law, a consumer advocacy law firm whose credit repair services help consumers dispute errors and other questionable negative information from their credit reports.
The less you know about the credit reporting agencies, the more difficult it will be to fix a problem when one shows up on your credit file. And odds are an error will appear. Nearly 80 of credit reports contain errors, and one out of every four contains errors serious enough to cause significant problems for consumers, according to research by the U.S. PIRG.
Here are some common credit bureau misconceptions and the real facts behind the fiction:
Fiction 1: There are only three "official" consumer reporting agencies.
Fact: Many companies are in the business of collecting, compiling and processing credit information.
Fiction 2: The big three credit bureaus are official government entities.
Fact: "There are no official bureaus," Padawer says. "While most Americans perceive their credit reports to have at least the same legal standing as their driving records, the truth is that the government had no role in establishing the for-profit companies which produce them."
Fiction 3: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion all have the same credit information.
Fact: Different creditors often report to different reporting agencies. In fact, there is no law that requires them to report to any of the credit bureaus. Credit bureaus do not share information either, so if you find an error on your report from all three agencies, fixing it with one of them does not mean the error will come off the other two credit reports at the same time.
Fiction 4: Credit bureaus will act promptly to help me rectify an error or remove inaccurate negative information from my credit report.
Fact: Federal law requires all consumer reporting agencies to complete an investigation into a consumer complaint within 30 days of when it was first made. The bureau may decide the disputed item remains on the report as is, update but not delete the item, remove the item, or deem the complaint frivolous. Given that the easiest option is to simply judge your complaint as frivolous, many consumers find that their legitimate concerns get dismissed.
Increasingly, frustrated and fed up consumers are turning to credit correction professionals like Lexington Law to help them resolve credit report problems. Anyone who has disputed a listing on their credit reports knows the process can be long, maddening and perhaps ultimately fruitless. Involving a professional can achieve faster, better results.
Survey after survey suggests that the average American knows very little about the credit bureaus other than that they essentially control consumer credit profiles - and as a result, their purchasing power. And that is how the credit bureaus want it, argues Dr. Randy Padawer, a clinical psychologist whose research into consumer credit has been featured in Smart Money Magazine and the bestselling FICO 850 seminar for The Motley Fool.
"The three major credit bureaus truly want consumers to believe that they've each been blessed with an officially sanctioned franchise," says Padawer, who has consulted for Lexington Law, a consumer advocacy law firm whose credit repair services help consumers dispute errors and other questionable negative information from their credit reports.
The less you know about the credit reporting agencies, the more difficult it will be to fix a problem when one shows up on your credit file. And odds are an error will appear. Nearly 80 of credit reports contain errors, and one out of every four contains errors serious enough to cause significant problems for consumers, according to research by the U.S. PIRG.
Here are some common credit bureau misconceptions and the real facts behind the fiction:
Fiction 1: There are only three "official" consumer reporting agencies.
Fact: Many companies are in the business of collecting, compiling and processing credit information.
Fiction 2: The big three credit bureaus are official government entities.
Fact: "There are no official bureaus," Padawer says. "While most Americans perceive their credit reports to have at least the same legal standing as their driving records, the truth is that the government had no role in establishing the for-profit companies which produce them."
Fiction 3: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion all have the same credit information.
Fact: Different creditors often report to different reporting agencies. In fact, there is no law that requires them to report to any of the credit bureaus. Credit bureaus do not share information either, so if you find an error on your report from all three agencies, fixing it with one of them does not mean the error will come off the other two credit reports at the same time.
Fiction 4: Credit bureaus will act promptly to help me rectify an error or remove inaccurate negative information from my credit report.
Fact: Federal law requires all consumer reporting agencies to complete an investigation into a consumer complaint within 30 days of when it was first made. The bureau may decide the disputed item remains on the report as is, update but not delete the item, remove the item, or deem the complaint frivolous. Given that the easiest option is to simply judge your complaint as frivolous, many consumers find that their legitimate concerns get dismissed.
Increasingly, frustrated and fed up consumers are turning to credit correction professionals like Lexington Law to help them resolve credit report problems. Anyone who has disputed a listing on their credit reports knows the process can be long, maddening and perhaps ultimately fruitless. Involving a professional can achieve faster, better results.