The Intersection of Credit and Denial

79% of all credit reports contain mistakes - 1 in 4 contain serious mistakes that could result int he consumer being denied credit

In 2004, the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG) did a study . Their mission was to find out how accurate credit reports are. For the study, they had individuals from 30 states order their credit reports and complete a detailed survey on the reports' accuracy. Quoting the report written by Alison Cassady, Edmund Mierzwinski and Deirdre Cummings:

"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 Fifty-four percent (54%) of the credit reports contained personal demographic information that was misspelled, long-outdated, blonged to a stranger, or was otherwise incorrect.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 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."I think that it's interesting to look at why this survey was done and how changes have been occurring. In 1970 Congress passed the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Since it's inception , though, it was ineffective at holding the CRA's to the standards that the American people deserve. There so many holes in the original act that consumers, for years, had limited ability to take a stand with the CRA's. In 1992, reforms began to occur in the way consumers' credit is reported and outlets were given to consumers to take a stand with the CRA's. This was not, however, brought about by the federal government, but, rather, the states.
Vermont was the first to take a stand. In 1992 they passed a law providing a free annual credit report on request. You see, in 2004 Julie Brill testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee about a debacle that occurred in her state in 1991. In 1991, if you lived in, and paid your taxes in Norwich, Vermont the CRA, TRW (now known as Experian) reported that you DID NOT pay your taxes. This affected literally thousands of citizens. Oops! Other states quickly rallied and passed similar acts. Then, and only then, did the federal government join the states in an attempt to bring about reform in credit reporting. Soon after, we saw the emergence of the FACT Act, or Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act and other reforms.
But, even then, up until 1999 (I think that's right) the number one complaint to the FTC was the CRA's and how they report on credit. It still remains one of the top complaints to this day. The 2004 MASSPIRG study is, to this date, the most recent and accurate depiction of the inefficiencies of the credit bureaus.

Credit secrets bible

S o, what can be done today to help ensure that consumers get a fair shake in the eyes of creditors? Outside of passing more reforms, we can take the CRA's to task by holding them to the standards laid out by the FCRA. My company chooses to do this by empowering those that make their living at the intersection of credit and denial. By teaching Mortgage Brokers and Real Estate Brokers how to repair their own clients' credit we are able to reach a broader audience. As a measure of whether or not this is an effective way of helping people get the scores they deserve you can take a look at our growth. Currently, we have 7,500 Certified Credit Consultants across the country and are doubling in size every three months. This kind of growth does NOT occur in an organization that is disreputable or ineffective in their services. If you could like to learn more about our company you can e-mail me here or visit my website at Credit Justice Services