Credit Report Errors

A February study from the Federal Trade Commission says that 20% of Americans have errors on at least one of their three credit reports (from Experian, Transunion and Equifax ) and that 5% had mistakes that "could led to them paying more for products such as auto loans and insurance."

http://www.mainstreet.com/article/moneyinvesting/credit/debt/cfpb-lowers-boom-credit-report-furnishers?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO&utm_source=Sept+23+email&utm_campaign=9%2F23%2F13&utm_medium=email

Here’s a snapshot of relevant points from the FTC report:

• 25% of U.S. consumers found errors on their credit reports that could crimp their credit health.
• 20% of consumers had an error on their credit report that was corrected by the credit agency after the mistake was disputed.
• 80% of consumers who filed disputes had the mistake “modified” by the credit report agency.
• 5% of consumers had a maximum score change of more than 25 points, and only one in 250 consumers had a maximum score change of more than 100 points.

Credit reports are free through annualcreditreport.com, FTC officials note — and contact the credit bureau right away to fix a mistake. That’s especially important before buying a home, car or applying for a credit card or insurance policy.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Washington, D.C. – Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) launched an online tool to provide consumers with easy access to public mortgage information collected under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The tool enables greater transparency by helping inform people of trends in their local mortgage markets.
“Just as the real estate motto ‘location, location, location’ was true before the recent financial crisis, it was true for the crisis. Every community was affected differently,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Our tool puts valuable information into the hands of the public in an accessible way, so they can understand what is happening in their local mortgage markets. A more transparent mortgage market will lead to a better marketplace and better outcomes for consumers.”

The CFPB’s online HMDA tool is available at: www.consumerfinance.gov/hmda