Mistakes Do Happen: Errors in Consumer Credit Reports

From the Executive Summary:

"The most valuable thing we have is our good name. The most common reflection of our reputation as a trustworthy consumer is our credit report. Unfortunately, the information contained in our credit reports, which are bought and sold daily to nearly anyone who requests and pays for them, does not always tell a true story.

[...]

We asked adults in 30 states to order their credit reports and complete a survey on the reports' accuracy. Key findings include:

- Twenty-five percent (25%) of the credit reports surveyed contained serious errors that could result in the denial of credit, such as false delinquencies or accounts that did not belong to the consumer;

- Fifty-four percent (54%) of the credit reports contained personal demographic information that was misspelled, long-outdated, belonged to a stranger, or was otherwise incorrect;

- Twenty-two percent (22%) of the credit reports listed the same mortgage or loan twice;

- Almost eight percent (8%) of the credit reports were missing major credit, loan, mortgage, or other consumer accounts that demonstrate the creditworthiness of the consumer;

- Thirty percent (30%) of the credit reports contained credit accounts that had been closed by the consumer but remained listed as open;

- Altogether, 79% of the credit reports surveyed contained either serious errors or other mistakes of some kind.
[...]"

Link to the summary U.S. PIRG Reports - Mistakes Do Happen: A Look at Errors in Consumer Credit Reports

View the Full report [PDF]