Please Help, I am having a credit issue.

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I went to a Chrysler dealership recently to buy a new car.  When they ran my credit score, it came back horrible.  They put my social security number in and my father's birthdate and credit history was all linked onto my credit report.  I had a few things on the report that I am responsible for, but the majority of the report included my dad's credit history.  They would not finance me.  I am young and don't have any idea as to who to contact to fix this or how to go about fixing it.  My father and I share the same name, I use "II" at the end of my name (as in "The Second").  I want to be steered in the right direction, but am very uneducated on how to fix this problem and how to fix it sooner than later.  Please and Thank you!!

[GregB]

You need to start with the complete reports from each of the 3 CRAs. You can get one each year from each CRA. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com and you can go to each CRA and print each report. Be sure and print them for future reference.

Once you have all three reports you can start fixing the errors.

[Anonymous]

I feel sorry for u, follow the steps below

1. Order your credit report. To dispute something on your credit report, you need a copy that's no more than 90 days old.

Federal law gives you the right to a free copy every 12 months from the three major credit bureaus. Head to AnnualCreditReport.com and order your free credit report. If you've used up your free annual copies, you can order a report directly from one of the credit bureaus for a fee.

Disputes filed using free annual credit reports can take up to 45 days to be resolved.

2. Review it for errors. Negative information that is more than 7 years old (10 years for Chapter 7 bankruptcies) can be removed and should be disputed.

3. File a dispute. Initiate a dispute with the credit reporting agency that provided the report containing the error. There are three ways to dispute: online, in writing or on the phone.

Online disputes will be the fastest method, and the three major credit reporting agencies -- Equifax,Experian and TransUnion -- allow them. Your credit report will provide up-to-date contact information and instructions for telephone and written disputes. TransUnion and Equifax each have a mail-in dispute form you can print and fill out. The dispute form for Experian is on the last page of the consumer's Experian credit report.

In some cases, it can make sense to contact the creditor first if the company has reported something inaccurate about the account, such as a false late payment. A phone call might resolve some errors, but a paper trail provides proof of the dispute. To dispute in writing, send a certified letter to the creditor with return receipt requested.

Include in it:

• Your full name and address.
• A statement instructing the company to investigate the disputed item.
• The item in question, along with the account number.
• A reason why you believe the information is incorrect. Be concise.
• Copies of supporting documents, when appropriate.

[Anonymous]

If it's simply an issue or confusion due to similar names you might not have a problem getting it fixed quickly.  However, be prepared for it to be a long process.

[RobertEG]

In my opinion, this does not usually rise to the level of requiring a dispute.  Disputes relate to the inaccuracy of information reported by a furhisher.  It does not appear that the reported information was per se inaccurate, but rather was not sufficient for the CRA to properly match it with the correct credit file.  CRAs have matching criteria to assure entry of reported information with the proper consumer file.  Apparently, the matching information that they used was incomplete or incorrect.

Thus, it appears that the issue is primarily one of administrative processing by the CRA.  As such, I would put together a letter addressed to the CRA providing clear evidence of your own personal identifiers, such as full name, address, SSN, etc. and ask them to validate that this matches the information reported by any furnisher that resulted in their match of that information to your credit file.