| An Unpleasant Possibility | | | | similar name. In this case your credit repair |
| | | | efforts will fall under Section 611 as |
| Are there entries on your credit report that | | | | indicated above. But if the creditor says |
| do not belong to you? These may be the result | | | | that it is your account and verifies your |
| of a file merger error on the part of the | | | | name and address, and you know that this is |
| credit bureaus. Or they may be the result of | | | | an account that you never personally opened |
| a more nefarious case of identity theft. The | | | | it is time to act. |
| Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) gives you | | | | |
| very specific and powerful tools to correct | | | | The Dispute |
| cases of identity theft and to quickly block | | | | |
| the erroneous information from appearing on | | | | An Identity Theft Dispute must include an |
| your credit report and impacting your credit | | | | Identity Theft Report which may be obtained |
| scores. | | | | from an authorized agency including, but not |
| | | | limited to, your local police department, the |
| Section 611 | | | | FTC, the States Attorney General Office, and |
| | | | The United States Post Office. In addition to |
| Most disputes are governed by FCRA Section | | | | the Identity Theft Report you must include |
| 611 procedures which rule that "if the | | | | clear proof of your identity, identification |
| completeness or accuracy of any item of | | | | of each suspect account on your report, and a |
| information contained in a consumer's file at | | | | statement that the suspect information is not |
| a consumer reporting agency is disputed by | | | | related to any transaction made by you. Don't |
| the consumer and the consumer notifies the | | | | make the mistake of providing speculation |
| agency directly, or indirectly through a | | | | about the disputed items. The credit bureaus |
| reseller, of such dispute, the agency shall, | | | | only want the simple facts. Many credit |
| free of charge, conduct a reasonable | | | | repair efforts are foiled by too much |
| reinvestigation to determine whether the | | | | information. Don't muddy the water. |
| disputed information is inaccurate and record | | | | |
| the current status of the disputed | | | | Immediate Results |
| information, or delete the item from the | | | | |
| file, before the end of the 30-day period | | | | Once you have properly submitted an Identify |
| beginning on the date on which the agency | | | | Theft Dispute to one of the credit bureaus |
| receives the notice of the dispute." | | | | they are required to take immediate action. |
| | | | The FCRA (Section 605B) mandates that a |
| A Powerful Credit Repair Tool | | | | credit bureau block the reporting of any |
| | | | information that you have identified as |
| Section 611 procedures are normally fine, but | | | | having resulted from identity theft within |
| if you have a pending transaction that | | | | four business days of the receipt of your |
| requires your credit report to be in top form | | | | dispute. The blocking of information means |
| and time is of the essence you should | | | | that it cannot be included on your credit |
| consider getting out the big guns. The FCRA | | | | report nor have any impact on your credit |
| remedy for identity theft is the most | | | | scores. To further accommodate your dispute |
| powerful and quick acting tool available. But | | | | the three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, |
| before you utilize this powerful credit | | | | and TransUnion must refer your dispute to |
| repair tool you need to determine that the | | | | each other. This eliminates the burden of |
| erroneous information on your report is | | | | dealing with your credit repair project in |
| something more than a file merger problem. | | | | triplicate. Other rights related to identity |
| | | | theft include Fraud Alerts and Credit Freeze |
| Assess the Situation | | | | which may or may not be appropriate for your |
| | | | situation. |
| Many of the erroneous entries that appear on | | | | |
| consumer's credit reports are due to annoying | | | | Contact a Credit Repair Professional |
| file merger problems resulting from | | | | |
| deficiencies in the credit bureau's data | | | | If you feel in doubt about the process and |
| management systems. These are altogether too | | | | want clarification contact a credit repair |
| common and do not fall into the category of | | | | professional. Most reputable credit repair |
| identity theft. If you examine your credit | | | | companies will offer a free consultation and |
| report and discover an account that does not | | | | take the time to clarify any concerns that |
| belong to you it is essential to take action | | | | you may have. If you would rather hire |
| immediately. The first step is to call the | | | | someone instead of doing it yourself, a |
| creditor that is furnishing the data to the | | | | competent credit repair professional can |
| credit bureau and ask them if the account is | | | | perform the work for you in an efficient and |
| truly under your name. In many cases victims | | | | careful manner. |
| of file mergers discover quickly that these | | | | |
| mysterious accounts belong to someone with | | | | Copyright © 2007 James W. Kemish. All |
| similar identifying characteristics, like a | | | | Content. All Rights Reserved. |