Credit Reporting Law, Credit Reporting History
Cento Law
Credit Bureaus Unveiled: The Power, ...
Credit Bureaus Unveiled: The Power, Consolidation, and Consumer Struggles from 1970 to Today
Credit Reporting Law, Cento Law
Cento Law
FCRA - The Fair Credit Reporting Act
FCRA - The Fair Credit Reporting Act
Credit Errors, Credit Report
Cento Law
HOW TO DISPUTE INACCURATE INFORMATION ON YOUR ...

Disputing Inaccuracies

HOW TO DISPUTE INACCURATE INFORMATION ON YOUR CREDIT REPORTS
Credit Report
Cento Law
How to Begin a Credit Repair Process Yourself

A start to fixing credit yourself

How to Begin a Credit Repair Process Yourself
Credit Scoring
Cento Law
Credit Scores: How They Generally Work

The lending industry has many different types of credit scores on the market today. Many different vendors have created them, such as Fair Isaac, the three national repositories, credit grantors, and insurance companies. 

Credit Scores: How They Generally Work

Studies & Reports

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Credit Reporting Complaints from the Military Community

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Credit Reporting Complaints from the Military Community

Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its fourth annual report detailing the complaints received from military servicemembers, veterans and their families. Since the CFPB first started taking complaints in July of 2011, the complaint volume has steadily risen. In 2015, the CFPB received thousands of credit reporting complaints from the military community. The reporting of inaccurate credit information was by far the most complained about followed by complaints about the credit reporting company's investigation process.

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There has been more data breaches than days in 2016

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There has been more data breaches than days in 2016

A data breach occurs when protected information is exposed to an unauthorized source. Since the beginning of 2016, one hundred and thirty-nine (139) data breaches have taken place in the U.S. These data breaches subjected at least 4,294,005 records to identity theft.

No country or entity is immune to data breaches; even ISIS. An article published on March 10 reports that an ISIS data breach disclosed the names, hometowns, blood types, and other personal information about 22,000 members. In the wrong hands, this kind of sensitive information could be deadly.

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Is your child's identity safe?

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Is your child's identity safe?

Hundreds of millions of identities are exposed to identity theft each year. In a recent study, it was found that: "10.2% of children had someone else using their Social Security number. This is 51 times higher than the 0.2% rate for adults".  A child's Social Security number was used more often than an adults for a variety of reasons. A child's Social Security number is very enticing to thieves because it is unused and can be paired with any name and birth date. In addition, a child's identity can be used for years before being detected.

To know if your child has been a victim of identity theft, check to see if your child has a credit report. It is important to check all three of the credit reporting agencies as the reports are not identical.

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40 Million Americans Have Mistakes on Their Credit Reports | Is your credit report accurate?

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A new government study reports that over 40 million Americans have mistakes on their credit reports; and 20 million Americans have serious mistakes on their credit reports. Just before the government study was released, 60 Minutes aired a story about their investigation into the credit reporting industry. As explained by 60 Minutes, both the government study (which was conducted by the Federal Trade Commission and was the largest and most comprehensive such study ever done on the credit reporting industry) found these mistakes are often almost impossible to remove from your credit file.

Highlights From FTC Recent Study On Credit Report Inaccuracy

The Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) recently released its fifth interim report on a national study of credit report accuracy. This was the first national study to include participation from consumers, lenders/data furnishers, FICO and the national consumer reporting agencies (the “CRAs”). The FTC found that:

  • “26% of the 1,001 participants in the study identified at least one potentially material error on at least one of their three credit reports.”
  • Only 21% of participants had

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Limitations of the e-OSCAR System | Credit Report Disputes

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In a study released this month by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the CFPB found that there are specific limitations on the e-OSCAR system; the electronic system used by the national consumer reporting agencies (Trans Union, Experian and Equifax) (CRAs) to process consumer disputes of the accuracy of their credit reports.  Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the CRAs are required to send data furnishers a notice of a consumer dispute that includes “all relevant information regarding the dispute that the agency has received from the consumer.” 

CFPB Releases Results of Study of Differences Between Consumer and Creditor Purchased Credit Scores

What should you do if you learn that your credit report has errors? You can either contact us about how to proceed or send a dispute to the consumer reporting agency (CRA) on your own. There are several ways to initiate the dispute process with the CRAs, including using the dispute form which you may have received when you ordered your credit report; using the CRAs online dispute form; sending a dispute letter by mail (certified mail is recommended but not required); or by telephone. Whichever method you choose, you should remember to keep an accurate record of your dispute, including a copy of your dispute form or letter. If you use the online dispute form, you should take a screen shot of your dispute before sending it.