A large number of lenders depend, perhaps too much, on information contained in a credit report. If credit report information is false, it can take years to repair, and during that time, an individual's ability to take out a loan is seriously in jeopardy.

The credit report headaches that take the most time to repair are those where the lender maintains that the information is correct, even if the consumer can prove evidence to the contrary. Some of the more difficult examples frequently have to do with mistaken identities or identity or credit theft, or simply plain, old, routine typographical errors. A recent survey suggests that nearly eighty percent of credit reports have errors. By law, the bureaus are required to respond to a query about errors within thirty days, but in actuality, it might take a great deal longer than that. While credit report errors often are negligible in substance, up to twenty five percent of all reports have mistakes that are serious enough to prevent a person from receiving credit or a loan.
 

Fixing some errors can take a while, because of the intricacies of the data involved. Most common errors are quickly repaired; easily repaired problems include incorrect addresses, ages, phone numbers, and so on.

Mistaken ID - Living may seem like an easy thing to demonstrate; after all, a telephone call from the living should prove otherwise, but that does not appear to be the case. If the credit bureaus think you are deceased, you are in a world of hurt, as no one will lend money to a person who is dead. Most of the time, credit reports that indicate the person is dead are a situation of wrong identity, but if there's a death certificate involved, it can take phone calls, attorneys and even court cases to straighten out. There have been cases of consumers who couldn't acquire loans because the bureaus believed they were dead.

Legislation to correct the problem of incorrect information seems unlikely, though, as The Federal government is presently rather happy with some of their recent financial laws, such as the bizarrely named Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act. While these difficulties are being sorted out, the borrower's FICO score is harmed, and he can't get a loan, or a bank card, or perhaps a job or a home. With increased dependence on computer created financial reports looming larger in our lives, the least the credit bureaus could do is help to make sure that data is accurate. There does not seem to be any Government legislation in the near future to help straighten this situation out, but it would be nice.