The Shock of Discovery

Are there accounts on your credit report that you do not recognize? This is not an uncommon occurrence, and there are two quick credit repair techniques you can easily employ to rectify the situation. But before doing anything you should do a bit of homework.

Finding the Cause

It is important to understand the cause of the mystery accounts before choosing the credit repair technique to remove them. One common cause of unidentified accounts is known as a file merger error and, although similar in manifestation as outright identity theft, it is considerable less problematic and easier to cure.

Matching Problems

File merger errors happen when you and another person have similar identifying characteristics. The credit bureaus select accounts to include in your credit report by matching certain identifying criteria. This matching process does not have to be perfect. In fact, if several criteria are a match, the algorithm may overlook other contradictory criteria.

All in the Family

Siblings are especially prone to file merger errors, as parents often apply for Social Security numbers for their children at the same time. This results in Social Security numbers that often vary only by a few digits. Throw in a common last name, and possibly a common home address and the credit reports of both siblings are virtually guaranteed to be mixed and to require credit repair.

Other Cases

Siblings are not the only people needing credit repair to resolve this issue. There are over three hundred million people in the United States. When you consider that there are a finite number of common first names, and many street names repeat themselves from city to city, the odds virtually guarantee that a significant number of erroneous matches occur.

Put it to the Test

The test for a file merger error is simple. All you need to do is contact one of the creditors for an unidentified account and ask them if it is yours. They will ask you for your name and address or whatever information they need to locate the account. If they tell you that they have no record of such an account in your name and are not reporting it to the credit bureaus it is a file merger error.

The Credit Repair Fix

The credit repair process is simple. All you need to do is to circle the offending items on your report, send a letter to whichever bureau is including the bad data, and ask them to block the bad information. They will tighten the matching criteria and insure that there is a perfect match on the critical identifying information.

The Other Outcome

If your call to the creditor is met with a confirmation that the account is in your name you must employ a different credit repair technique. The first step is to insert a fraud alert on your report requesting all prospective creditors to contact you before approving any credit in your name. The second step is to make a visit to your local police station to make a report of the crime.

Using the Law

The police will furnish you with a written report, which you will need to send to the credit bureaus along with a request to cease reporting all fraudulent accounts. Per the Fair Credit Reporting Act the bureaus must block the bad info and start a proper investigation. In the short term this credit repair method will deliver relief, and once the investigation is done the bad account should be gone for good.

Copyright © 2010 Ian Webber. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

Author Bio: Ian Webber is an expert in consumer law and credit repair. Ian is a graduate of the London School of Economics and The University of Chicago where he earned his LLM. Ian consults with one of the leading online credit repair services and is currently based in Florida.

Category: Legal
Keywords: credit repair, credit repair services, credit report repair, credit scores, bad credit