Mistake Mysteries Unraveled: Why Credit Bureaus Screw Up

Anyone paying attention to their credit report knows the truth- mistakes by the credit bureaus are shockingly common. But why? With billions of dollars in annual profit, why can't Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion consistently produce credit reports without errors? The answer may shock you- they just don't care. (shrug)

Of course, they won't say this to your face. They come in hot with expressions of compassion and concern for the everyday consumer. But when push comes to shove, the way credit bureaus operate tells the real story.

Top 4 Things Causing Credit Report Errors

1. Scale: The credit bureaus rely on data from multiple sources across your entire financial life. Credit cards, mortgages, car loans, and more. All of this adds up to a sea of data that has to be sorted, sifted, and assigned to the right person.
2. Volume: You'll want to buckle up for this one- estimates put the number of total credit reports pulled each year in the United States in the billions! This means at any given time your individual credit report is little more than a blip. A dot. A speck.
3. Automation: You might be thinking, and rightfully so, the only thing that might hold this whole ship together would be valuable human oversight. But you may be more likely to spot Big Foot on your next nature walk than you would be to spot a human toiling away at the credit bureaus, ensuring your data is accurate. (There is some human compenent to the dispute and review process, but it's hard to come by and woefully light.)
4. Profit! No shocker here. Profit is a driving force behind the production and provision of credit reports. Everyone has a right to make a healthy profit, right? Absolutely! But optimal profit for the credit bureaus means maximum speed with minimum oversight. This formula adds up to credit report errors that just won't quit. Chasing profit without meeting your legal obligation to provide ACCURATE credit report data is a profit-gone-wild problem, and it's a violation of consumer law.

But Aren't There Laws That Protect Me?

Yes! The Fair Credit Reporting Act exists for exactly this reason. The FCRA protects consumers from data abuses by the credit bureaus- giving consumers important rights. Here are some of the rights and strategies legally available to you:

• Access to your credit reports. In fact, you can access and review your credit report from each of the credit bureaus every single week if you want. Check out annualcreditreport.com, a verified site. Review your report from each of the credit bureaus to spot errors. This is especially important if you were turned down for an opportunity unexpectedly. Errors could be the cause!
• The ability to dispute credit report errors. You do not have to accept mistakes on your credit report or the consequences these mistakes cause (like lost opportunities for loans, rentals, insurance, and more).
• An expectation of an actual response from the credit bureaus within 30 days. We all know what would happen if the credit bureaus weren't held accountable for responding to your dispute in a reasonable amount of time...your credit report dispute would be on back log for eternity. ‍
• Filing a lawsuit against the credit bureaus if you need to. It's common practice for the credit bureaus to ignore disputes, conduct subpar investigations, and just continue reporting the same mistakes while your credit score takes a nose dive. When this happens, you can get legal help and the credit bureaus have to pay for the costs. This is called fee-shifting and it's a game-changer for consumers, helping to keep things fair.

Fix Mistakes Fast with Mistake.com

Fixing credit report errors (and background check errors) is what we do...all day, every day. For as long as Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion fail to fix the flawed system that keeps blasting out mistakes like fireworks on the Fourth of July, Mistake.com will be here to help.

Our legal team can fix credit report errors in their sleep. They don't, of course, because they need sleep. But we've been doing this so long, we know all about the systems, the processes, the excuses, the delay tactics, and the roadblocks the credit bureaus rely on. And we know how to enforce your rights under the FCRA, hold them accountable, and get you a credit report that ACCURATELY tells your story.

We handle the whole process for you, from identifying key information and filing the dispute, to making sure you get lasting corrections...and fighting for compensation! All you have to do is spot the errors and send them our way.

They make mistakes. You spot mistakes. We fix mistakes.

Mistake Fixes It Fast!