|
Mistakes
Do Happen
(Report conducted by PIRG Public
Information Research Group, Washington, D.C.)
- Twenty-nine
percent (29%) of
credit reports contain serious errors, false
delinquencies, or accounts that did not belong to the
consumer.
- Forty-one
percent (41%) of
credit reports contain demographic information that was
misspelled, outdated or incorrect.
- Twenty
percent (20%) of
credit reports were missing major credit, loan, mortgage
or other information to demonstrate the credit worthiness
of the consumer.
- Twenty-six
percent (26%) of
credit reports contain accounts that were closed by the
consumer but incorrectly listed as open (or) "closed by
credit grantor".
- Altogether,
seventy percent (70%)
of credit reports contain errors or mistakes.
|
FTC
1997 - June of 2003
Complaints filed against Credit Bureaus
|
|
Bureau
|
Non-ID
theft
|
ID
theft
|
Sub-total
|
Combined
total
|
|
1997
|
|
Equifax
|
332
|
n/a*
|
332
|
875
|
|
Experian
|
305
|
|
305
|
|
TransUnion
|
238
|
|
238
|
|
1998
|
|
Equifax
|
1,923
|
n/a*
|
1,923
|
5,633
|
|
Experian
|
1,964
|
|
1,964
|
|
TransUnion
|
1,799
|
|
1,799
|
|
1999*
|
|
Equifax
|
2,285
|
23
|
2,308
|
7,580
|
|
Experian
|
2,860
|
26
|
2,886
|
|
TransUnion
|
2,374
|
12
|
2,386
|
|
2000
|
|
Equifax
|
2,744
|
282
|
3,026
|
8,339
|
|
Experian
|
2,629
|
275
|
2,904
|
|
TransUnion
|
2,263
|
146
|
2,409
|
|
2001
|
|
Equifax
|
3,932
|
495
|
4,427
|
10,618
|
|
Experian
|
2,957
|
365
|
3,322
|
|
TransUnion
|
2,726
|
143
|
2,869
|
|
2002
|
|
Equifax
|
5,291
|
2,681
|
7,972
|
14,557
|
|
Experian
|
4,221
|
1,800
|
6,021
|
|
TransUnion
|
3,494
|
504
|
3,998
|
|
2003
|
|
Equifax
|
2,094
|
896
|
2,990
|
16,536
|
|
Experian
|
1,882
|
672
|
2,554
|
|
TransUnion
|
1,756
|
236
|
1,992
|
|
6.5
Year TOTAL
|
|
Equifax
|
18,601
|
4,377
|
22,978
|
64,138
|
|
Experian
|
16,818
|
3,138
|
19,956
|
|
TransUnion
|
14,650
|
1,041
|
15,691
|
|
FOIA
No. 2003-470
*
Identity Theft began a crime in 1998. The
FTC began accepting consumer inquiries and
complaints about identity theft in October 1999.
|
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