How Do Mistakes Get On My Credit Report?

It is estimated that as many as 80% of credit files have errors. If your credit report contains errors, it is often because the report is incomplete, or contains information about someone else. This typically happens because:

  • You applied for credit under different names (for example, Margaret Jones versus Margaret Jones-Smith)
  • Someone made a clerical error in reading or entering name or address information from a hand-written application
  • You gave an inaccurate Social Security number or the number was misread by the lender
  • Loan or credit card information was inadvertently applied to the wrong account