When to Check Your Child's Credit Report

When will your child have a credit report?  When should you check?  When should you be worried that your child does have a credit report or his or her credit is being used illegally?  These are all questions that parents should ask themselves but often do not.

Typically children do not have a credit report until they actually obtain their first credit card, car loan or other financial account that is reported to the credit bureaus.  This should not be until they reach the age of majority in your state and can legally enter into contracts.  Or possibly when you add them as an authorized user on your credit cards, not that I am advising that you do that!

However, children are often the victim of identity theft long before they are old enough to obtain their own credit.  Oftentimes, it is the children's own parents that are the identity thieves.  A credit application appears one day bearing the child's name.  A quick application later and a credit card is issued in the child's name.  An unscrupulous parent can then make charges that never are re-paid and that do not affect the parent's credit report.

And it does not have to be a parent that commits the crime.  Children can be the victims of identity thieves that are complete strangers.  Or they can be "merged" with another adult consumer whose name, Social Security number or other personal identifiers are similar to your child's. While the credit bureaus should never allow this to happen by simply complying with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, it does happen because the credit bureaus are known to utilize faulty matching logic that allows such mergers of credit files to happen.  And when it does, the adult consumer's credit can and will land on your child's credit report, which can cause your child to be saddled with a bad credit history before he or she even begins their adult life.

So how do you protect your child's credit?  What are the warning signs that a child has become the victim of identity theft?

You should check your child's credit report with the big three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and Trans Union).  I suggest doing so when your child turns 16.  At that point, the response from the credit bureaus should be that they have no file on your child.  But, if there is a file, then you should obtain a copy (as the parent and guardian of your child) and confirm that no accounts have been opened in your child's name.  If there have been, dispute them to the credit bureaus, including a copy of your child's birth certificate to prove that he or she is under age and thus not legally capable of entering into a contract to open the fraudulently opened account(s).

Should you ever check your child's credit before their sixteenth birthday?  Yes - if your child starts receiving credit card applications, collection letters, collection calls or anything indicating that they have been active in the credit arena.  This could be an indication that your child's identity has already been stolen.  At that point, despite your child's age, you should check his or her credit report and dispute anything that is not your child's credit.

Ideally, such disputes will lead to the child's credit reports being corrected.  But, as often is the case, the credit bureaus will not perform reasonable investigations of the disputes.  At that point, you should consult an attorney like me who specializes in Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation.

New FCRA Lawsuit Against Equifax

The Kittell Law Firm filed a new Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuit today against Equifax for mixing the credit file of our client with that of his father.  As a result, three of the father's tax liens were reported by Equifax on our client's credit report.  What's even worse than that?  Equifax failed to remove the father's tax liens from the son's credit report, even after the son provided documentation that the tax liens belonged to the father.  Equifax continued reporting the father's tax liens on the son's credit report, causing the son to be denied credit on at least three occasions. 

Its bad enough to mix up two people with different names, different Social Security numbers, different addresses and different dates of birth.  What's worse is that Equifax still could not get it right even after being told to fix the obvious error.  Good thing the Fair Credit Reporting Act exists to provide consumers with the opportunity to obtain justice for the aggravation and other damages caused by the credit bureaus' callous disrespect for the accuracy of the credit reports they generate.

Yes, I'm vain.

Someone once told me that vain people like to google their own names.  Guess I'm ultra vain then, since I have a google alert set up to google my name for me.  (BTW, google alerts are great.  I  have alerts set up to e-mail me whenever new content appears on the web regarding Experian, Equifax, Trans Union, identity theft and the FCRA.  Pretty nifty.) 

The reason (other than vanity) I have a google alert for my name is that there is such a thing as social network identity theft, where someone steals your online identity (i.e. opens a facebook page under your name, etc.)  Supposedly, if someone tried to do this, my google alert would inform me and I could then take action. 

But what the google alert on my name did today was remind me of a great article by Kiplinger's magazine from 2004 about mixed files.  The article mentions me and my first of many mixed file cases against Equifax.  Here's the link to the article - http://books.google.com/books?id=fv4DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA74&lpg=PA74&dq=%22Christopher+Kittell%22&source=bl&ots=J290Ry68kW&sig=xCmlbIMSJ242cW8k_xgst1ljAkk&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22Christopher%20Kittell%22&f=false. 

Now, you must excuse me.  I've got to get back to googling my name while looking in the mirror.

Trans Union mixes multiple consumers' credit histories

Here's an all too familiar story about Trans Union merging two or more consumers' credit files together.  I have seen this way too much and have represented multiple consumers against the various credit bureaus as a result of the mixed file problem caused by the credit bureaus' loose matching logic. 

Here's a link to the article - http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local-beat/Credit-Report-Mistakes-Cost-Consumers--78470792.html.  Ms. Martinez, if you happen to see this and need legal representation against Trans Union, please e-mail me at ckittell@merkel-cocke.com and I'll help you find one of the few competent attorneys that actually have experience in this type of case.  There are only a few of us out there.

Mixed file case against Equifax settled today!

I reported on a mixed file case against Equifax back in June. The case involved Equifax mixing the credit files of Robyn Mueller and her twin brother Robert Mueller. Unfortunately for Robyn, Robert's credit was not so good. As a result, Equifax's inclusion of her brother's credit on her credit report caused Robyn to be denied credit, including a home loan. The link to my previous report is here - http://fcralawyer.blogspot.com/2009/06/article-about-yet-another-case-where.html.

Shortly before the Altanta Journal-Constitution (and I) reported this story, Robyn's attorney Steve Koval brought me in to help him on the case. I am glad to report that the case settled today for a confidential sum from Equifax, including an apology to Robyn from Equifax's attorney Lewis Perling. The settlement occurred after a six hour court ordered mediation before Magistrate Judge Cole in Gainesville, Georgia.

Equifax was accused of violating 15 U.S.C. 1681e(b)'s requirement to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the credit reports Equifax generated regarding Robyn. Equifax was also accused of failing to perform reasonable investigations of Robyn's disputes, which Equifax was required to perform by 15 U.S.C. 1681i. Amazingly, Equifax's own furnishers repeatedly told Equifax to delete Robert Mueller's accounts from Robyn's credit report, yet Equifax simply failed to delete the erroneous accounts. Also, in the few instances where Equifax did delete the erroneous accounts, Equifax reinserted many of those accounts on Robyn's credit report without informing her of the deleted accounts' reinsertion. Such failure to notify of reinsertion is another violation of 15 U.S.C. 1681i.

If anyone reading this post is a victim of a mixed file (regardless of which credit bureau is doing the mixing), please feel free to contact me for advice or representation. You may contact me by posting a comment to this blog or directly at ckittell@merkel-cocke.com.

An article with good advice about your credit score

Here's an article from Nurido English News about improving your credit score. The article even mentions what I call mixed file cases, where the credit bureaus put the credit accounts of one person on another person's credit report, sometimes with disastrous results. Unfortunately the article oversimplifies how hard it is to get the credit bureaus to fix their errors. Here's the article:

"A common question that we get asked a lot is how to improve a credit score. I tend to challenge the notion that we need a good credit score in the first place, since the way it is calculated really makes it an ‘I love debt score’. The FICO score is based on such things as the amount of debt outstanding, the available credit outstanding, payments history, etc.

I do believe however that it is important to check your credit report at least once per year and verify the accuracy of the report. I don’t know how many times I’ve coached a Bob Johnson that has an error on his report which it turns out in the end, was for another Bob Johnson. This type of error actually happens more than the industry will admit, but there are steps that you can take to remove the errors.

At least once per year everyone should visit AnnualCreditReport.com to view a free copy of their personal credit report. Since there are 3 reporting agencies (Equifax, TransUnion and Experion) I visit the website every 4 months to receive a free credit report from one of the companies.

It is important to point out that you will only receive your free report from AnnualCreditReport. You do not need to sign up for a free offer or enter your credit card to view your report.
Once you receive your report, make sure to review it for accuracy both in amounts of credit, as well as the correct accounts. As I mentioned before, account information is incorrectly reported many times.

If you find an error on your report, the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act provides direction on what can be done to have it changed. Depending on the 3 credit reporting companies, many times you are able to dispute the error on their website by filling out a simple form. Once the error is pointed out, the agency has 30 days to investigate. At the completion of the investigation there are 3 possible outcomes.

1) You are found liable for the debt and it was reported correctly. In this case the information will remain on the report.

2) The information was found inaccurate and the agency is required to remove it.

3) If no information can be found to either prove or disprove the information, it must also be removed by the agency."

[There is a fourth option - i.e. where the information is wrong but because neither the credit bureau nor the furnisher are willing to perform a reasonable investigation, the erroneous information stays on your credit report ... until you hire me that is.]

"The main reason we do suggest checking your credit report is to hopefully stop would be identity thieves early in their tracks, as well as to make sure that someone else is not getting reported on your report. If there is a serious error on your report or the agency does not allow you to report the error on its website, you will need to send a letter to them. In the letter, make sure to state the error and explain why it does not pertain to you. Send it return receipt requested so you have a record of them receiving it, and the 30-day countdown begins.

If you’re wondering how to actually improve your credit score, well, that will happen naturally if you do the things we teach, such as pay your bills on time and eliminate your debt."

Article about yet another case where Equifax mixed two consumers' files together

Yesterday in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, there was an article about yet another case where Equifax's faulty matching logic caused two people's credit files to be merged together, creating a mixed file where the bad credit history of one person lands on the good credit report of another person. The case in the article involves twins, where Equifax places the brother's bad credit on his twin sister's credit report and refuses to fix the errors despite numerous disputes and proof provided by the sister.

Here's a quote from the article:

"For more than two years Robyn Mueller has been battling credit reporting giant Equifax, which mixed her twin brother’s data into her file, then failed to correct the errors, records show.
Mueller sent Equifax repeated dispute letters beginning in 2006 — and even copies of each sibling’s driver’s licenses, pay stubs and other records — to prove they are different people. But the problem wasn’t fixed until last summer when she sued the Atlanta-based credit bureau.

For two years the errors saddled Mueller with an Equifax credit report so troubled she had no credit score, according to Mueller and records she’s assembled as part of a federal lawsuit.
'You don’t understand how much torture I went through,' said Mueller, 39, who lives in Sugar Hill. 'All the credit bureaus, they control your life. … It’s not fair for them to steal your identity.'

...

Federal law is supposed to protect consumers from such problems, mandating that credit reporting agencies investigate and promptly correct any errors consumers report to them.
But consumer watchdog groups say the system for disputing credit report errors is badly broken and can have a devastating impact on an individual’s ability to get loans, housing, insurance and jobs. They say credit bureaus do little to investigate alleged errors and use an automated system that reduces a consumer’s complex dispute letter and supporting documents to a two- or three-digit code.

When credit bureaus refuse to correct errors, the Fair Credit Reporting Act allows consumers to bring suit to enforce the law and collect damages and attorneys fees if they prevail.

The Consumer Data Industry Association, a trade group for the credit bureaus, said the dispute system, with its electronic coding, quickly corrects errors most of the time. Serious, lingering problems are rare, said Stuart Pratt, the association’s CEO."

FYI - the CDIA is an organization that is comprised of the credit bureaus and major furnishers of credit information (credit card companies, mortgage companies, etc.). The CDIA is actually responsible for coming up with the credit bureaus' terrible procedures for "investigating" consumer disputes by merely asking the company that provided the wrong information to begin with whether it was right or not, and then, no matter what the answer, going with the answer of the furnisher and never siding with the consumer if the consumer's position contradicts that of the furnisher.

First of all, Mr. Pratt, serious, lingering problems with Equifax and the other CRAs Experian and Trans Union are not only not "rare" but are common place. I see them every day.

And, in Ms. Mueller's case, the problem is not only Equifax's complete failure to properly investigate her disputes, but also Equifax's matching logic, which fails to require an exact match of a Social Security number on an account to the consumer before placing the account on the consumer's credit report. This caused the brother's bad credit, reported to Equifax with the brother's name and Social Security number, to land on the sister's credit report under her name and Social Security number.

This is a problem that Equifax has known about since the early 1990s and has even promised to fix in order to extricate itself from a lawsuit filed against it by 18 States and again when it was sued for this same mixed file problem by the FTC. Both times, Equifax agreed to fix its matching logic to use full identifying information, including full Social Security number, but both times Equifax failed to do what it promised, to the detriment to consumers like Ms. Mueller. Good luck in your lawsuit.

Here's a link to the full article - http://www.ajc.com/feeds/content/metro/stories/2009/06/14/spotlight_credit.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13.