Identity Theft Chaos? Give Your Credit Report a Makeover

Here’s a riddle: What do you call a credit report error caused by identity theft? The answer will shock you: a credit report error.

That’s right- when it comes to your legal right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to have an accurate credit report, it makes no difference whether a credit report error is caused by unauthorized activity in your accounts (identity theft), data entry errors at a service provider, mixed files, or any other cause.

When the credit bureaus prepare your credit report and calculate your credit score, they are under the exact same obligation every single time- leave the credit report errors out, keep the accurate information in.

So knowing how to get credit report errors fixed is like following the lighted path on your way to a complete identity theft recovery.

Why Identity Theft Damages Credit Reports

To understand what identity theft has to do with your credit report, it helps to know that your credit report is essentially a complete catalog of your financial activities and events.

The credit bureaus how many credit cards you have, what the balance is on each, and whether you pay late or on time. They know whether you have a car loan or a lease, you own assets (like a house), you have debts, you have a debt in collections, etc. They are the keeper of your financial facts, all of which are used to generate a credit score, and all of which are included on your credit report.

Now, imagine what happens when the financial facts flowing into your credit bureau data are untrue due to identity theft. When the stream of information coming in is full of false data, the credit report going out the other side is also full of false data.

When your personal information is used to do things in your name, those things end up on the credit report in your name:

• taking out loans in your name
• opening credit cards in your name
• paying for medical debts in your name
• making costly purchases in your name
• running credit checks in your name

When these inaccurate, misleading, and false financial facts get sent to the credit bureaus, they get included in your credit reports and used to calculate your credit score.

Including Identity Theft-Related Data On Your Credit Report is an Unlawful Mistake by the Credit Bureaus

We bet you would never guess that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is one of the most critical federal laws helping you recover after being targeted by fraudsters and turned into a victim of identity theft.

But now that you understand how identity theft leads to credit report chaos, you can see quite clearly that a law protecting the accuracy and integrity of your credit report is the key to getting and staying financially healthy again after identity theft.

Under the FCRA, you can dispute inaccurate credit report data, including fraudulent credit information. Once you dispute the information and provide proof that it’s the result of fraud, credit bureaus must conduct a reasonable investigation of your dispute…and then fix their reporting mistakes.

Of course, an identity theft recovery plan may also include working with the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) for unauthorized credit card charges, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) for unauthorized electronic bank transfers, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) for fraudulent debts created by identity thieves and harassing or abusive debt collection practices.

But no matter which other laws are used to clear identity theft from your accounts, the FCRA is the final gate keeper, protecting your right to be financially judged based on the truth and only the truth.

How to Clean up Credit Report Chaos After Identity Theft

If you’re at the point of first discovering identity theft, do this:

1.      Get copies of all three of your credit reports, one each from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You can request them through the verified site: annualcreditreport.com

2.      Review your credit reports, looking for fraudulent accounts, incorrect balances, inaccurate personal data (like addresses you don’t recognize), and unauthorized hard credit inquiries.

3.      File an identity theft report with the Federal Trade Commission and your local police. This step is important because it helps document the dates and circumstances of these events in real time. Any official reports you create now will help you clear fraudulent account data and credit report mistakes later.

4.      Notify banks and creditors. This includes any company that holds or transfers your money or your debts. Act quickly- the closer in time to the discovery of the identity theft, the better (there are timelines you have to follow). Let them know you were the victim of identity theft and fraud, that you’ve documented it with the FTC and police, and that you intend to formally dispute any inaccurate charges, events, and transactions in your account. This step puts them on notice, but it usually isn’t considered an official dispute.

5.      Review your accounts and file a formal dispute of any charges, events, debts and transactions that you did not authorize.

If you’ve already done these first five steps, you can start here:

6.      Dispute any fraudulent information that made its way onto your credit reports. To dispute credit report errors, you need to file a dispute with each credit bureau, including sending a legally sound dispute letter, a marked-up copy of your credit report, and copies of supporting documents. Request the removal of fraudulent accounts, inquiries, and derogatory marks. Use certified mail and keep the receipts!

7.      Track the days from when your dispute is received and when you get a response. If 30 days come and go and you’ve only heard crickets, you might need to escalate to a lawsuit.

8.      File a lawsuit. This is the final method to clean it all up if the credit bureaus ignore the dispute about the inaccurate info in your credit reports. (Or if the banks and other companies ignore your disputes with them, too.)

Mistake Makes Disputing Credit Report Errors After Identity Theft Easy!

It’s hard enough to maintain good financial habits and a healthy credit score on your own, let alone when someone uninvited sneaks in and destroys your hard work through identity theft. The very last thing you need is to face it alone.  

From fraudulent accounts and unauthorized debts to a completely tarnished financial reputation, identity theft is the gateway to credit report chaos.

But when you work with an attorney on our legal team at Mistake.com, disputing credit report errors is fast, easy, and FREE! And if we need to escalate your dispute to a lawsuit because it’s getting ignored, your legal team springs into action. We can help easily guide you through the entire identity theft recovery process, from the first step to the last.

Call today to get started!

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