According to the reports of the new study that was released today by the Policy and Economic Research Council (PERC), consumers can now rest easy and they need not be too concerned if there is a possibility of errors occurring in their credit reports, which could be negatively affecting their creditworthiness.
The PERC research is a statistically sound and comprehensive study that is performed under rigorous peer review. The accuracy of the data that has been collected and maintained by the three major credit reporting agencies – Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, and the impact of the outcome of the credit report disputes, has been studied in great detail. More than 2000 consumers were engaged in the study in order to examine their credit report entries, spot inaccuracies, and file disputes wherever necessary, as well as to discuss their satisfaction levels candidly with regard to the outcomes.
The study revealed the following:
- At least 0.93% of the credit reports that were examined by the consumers had prompted a dispute which resulted in a correction in the credit score which resulted in an increase in the credit score of 25 points or more.
- After the completion of the dispute process, 0.50% of the credit reports that were examined by consumers had scores that moved to the high-risk tier due to the consumer dispute.
- 95% of the consumers who were part of the study were satisfied with the outcome of the dispute process.
Dr. M
One of the tasks for the New Year would be to review the credit report that you receive annually. Not only is it free for the consumers but it also doesn’t require signing up for anything. The Congress a few years ago had passed a law which required each of the 3 credit bureaus, Equifax, Trans Union and Experian to provide the consumer with a free copy of the credit report every year. Consumers also should understand that there is just the solitary source for the annual review. They need to go to the site annualcreditreport.com and follow the instructions. This credit report is very important as it tells the consumers how their credit history is shaping up. This is critical as a bad credit history would mean that the consumer’s creditworthiness is at question and he or she has to take steps in the right direction to repair the credit history.
There are just some times when you find a few errors in your credit report, and these kinds of mistakes could often cost you a loan you want to get or a job you want to have. If you find these kinds of faults in your financial document, then you need to fix them as soon as possible because doing so is a long and tedious process.
Identity theft and credit hacking related crimes have grown more active these past few months, and you may never know if you are a victim of such acts. It is best that you check your credit report more carefully whenever you make the regular annual check-up to make sure that your credit information is safe.
The Fair & Accurate Credit Trans Act (FACTA) is a law that allows every American consumer to obtain a free credit report every twelve months. Many consumers are well aware of this, but many aren’t. The government, economists and even financial institutions advise consumers now and then of the importance of this annual check. Purposes of the check are to provide timely error correction and improvement of accuracy check on the reports.