Here. They have conducted an extraordinary investigation, reviewing nearly 30,000 consumer complaints. Some highlights from the article, which is worth reading in its entirety:
Nearly a quarter of the complaints to the FTC and more than half of the complaints to the attorneys general involved mistakes in consumers’ financial accounts for credit cards, mortgages or car loans. Houses sold in bank-approved “short sales,” at less than the value of the mortgage, were listed as foreclosures. Car loans that had been paid off were reported as repossessions. Credit cards that had been paid off and closed years earlier showed as delinquent.
More than 5 percent complained to the FTC and more than 40 percent to the attorneys general that their reports had basic personal information listed incorrectly: names, Social Security numbers, addresses and birth dates. An Ohio man said his report identified him as having been a police officer since 1923. He was born in 1968. A woman in her 60s said that her credit report listed her as 12 years old.
More than 5 percent complained to the FTC that their reports contained an account that did not belong to them. Many of those accounts involved debts that had been turned over to collection agencies. A woman in Georgia complained about a medical-collection account on her report. It was for treating prostate cancer.
Nearly 200 people told the FTC that their credit reports listed them as deceased, cutting off their ability to access credit.
More than half of all who filed complaints with the FTC said that despite their best efforts, they could not persuade the three major credit-reporting agencies to fix the problems.
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