When you’re mistakenly reported as deceased, you need a credit reporting lawyer.
Deceased credit reporting errors are so harmful that frequently just the fact that you’ve been mistakenly reported as deceased is enough to pursue legal action.
At Consumer Justice Law Firm, we help you recover from the devastating consequences of being mistakenly reported as deceased on your credit report and do everything the law allows to cold credit reporting agencies accountable for the reckless way they handle your data.
GET JUSTICE for Being Mistakenly Reported as Deceased!
We fight to make consumer reporting agencies
- Fix false consumer deceased indicators
- Pay you money for any harm they cause
- Pay your legal bills (you pay $0 out of pocket)
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What Does it Mean to Be Mistakenly Reported as Deceased?
When someone who is very much alive is mistakenly reported as deceased on a credit report or other consumer report it is called deceased reporting.
This is a type of credit report error that is a common cause of credit denials and other rejections, and it has the unique ability to spread rapidly and cause wide-ranging financial harm.
What is a Consumer Deceased indicator?
The consumer deceased indicator on a credit report is a notation that is actually a consumer safeguard. When a consumer dies, marking a credit report with a consumer deceased notation is way of preventing identity theft and financial exploitation.
Fraudsters look through obituaries and funeral sites to identify the recently deceased and then leap into action attempting to access bank accounts, lines of credit, benefits, and more.
By marking a consumer deceased on their credit report, it flags their accounts in order to do two main things:
- Give notice to lenders, banks, mortgage companies, retailers, and financial companies that very careful review is required before any transactions are approved.
- Locks down the person’s financial profile until court orders and other formal documents give someone the legal right to access the accounts.
While these two things are fantastic security measure when a consumer really is deceased, they also mean that being mistakenly reported as deceased can quickly become a living nightmare.
Check out The Consumer Justice Blog for insightful articles on being mistakenly reported as deceased, dealing with other credit reporting errors, and other topics in consumer protection and employment law.
3 Causes of Being Mistakenly Reported as Deceased
Deceased reporting is usually caused by one of three things:
- Clerical Errors- This is the result of a data entry error when inputting a social security number, birthdate, full name, etc. It can result in someone accidentally flagging one of your bank or store accounts as deceased.
- Mixed Credit Reports- This is the result of another type of credit reporting error called a mixed credit report. When your credit file is accidentally mixed with someone else’s, you could end up being mistakenly reported as deceased if the other person is already dead or dies before you catch it and fix the error.
- Social Security Errors- This is the result of errors made by the Social Security Administration accidentally toggling your social security number to deceased status and entering your name in the Death Master File.
11 Ways Being Mistakenly Reported as Deceased Harms You
Deceased reporting can harm you in a number of significant ways, including these:
- Financial Lockdown. If you’re believed to be dead, access to your checking, savings, retirement, benefits, insurance, lines of credit, and more, go into a lockdown status until you can prove you’re still alive.
- Credit Score Drops to Zero. All of your hard work maintaining a healthy credit score can end with a rapid and unfair drop all the way to zero. Afterall, if you’re dead, you don’t need a credit score anymore.
- Mortgage denials. When you show up as deceased on your credit report, lenders can’t process and approve a mortgage in your name, even if you’re sitting right across from them.
- Rental denials. Whether you’re looking for a long-term rental for housing, a vacation rental for fun, or a car rental for commuting, if you aren’t alive on your credit report, you aren’t able to rent.
- Car loan rejections. Even if you’ve saved for months, selected within your budget, and paid every single bill, loan, and debt on time, a dead person with a zero credit score is not driving off the lot with a new car.
- Job loss. Whether you’re a new candidate or a current employee, if a healthy credit report is part of your assessment, you can be let go or passed up due to deceased reporting.
- Credit denials. Home equity loans, personal loans, and lines of credit through a bank or lender can be stopped mid-processing or you can lose access to any already open and in good standing.
- Store account refusals. Whether you apply for a store card or account with a favorite retail brand, or you already have accounts in good standing, you can lose access.
- Insurance denials. Insurance policies and claims get flagged and processed as though you’re no longer among the living.
- Added to the Death Master File. Even if the deceased reporting didn’t start with the Social Security Administration, if you’re falsely reported as deceased, you can quickly be added to the SSA’s Death Master File, losing access to ALL of your finances, benefits, and accounts with one simple keystroke.
- Mental and emotional distress. Deceased reporting is one of the most stressful and anxiety-inducing forms of credit report errors. Losing access to your entire financial life can cause rapid and disastrous consequences.
FREE CONSULTATIONS and no out of pocket costs. You pay nothing upfront and when you win, they pay the bill. You pick up a win, they pick up the tab. Sweet!
3 Steps To Take if You’re Mistakenly Reported as Deceased
STEP 1 Talk to a lawyer
You have the right to accurate credit reports and consumer reporting agencies (such as Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) have to investigate and fix their mistakes. A lawyer clearly sets out your rights, guides you through the dispute and recovery process, and get you compensation.
Being mistakenly reported as deceased is considered so immediately harmful that talking to a lawyer as soon as you discover the errors may be the smartest move you make.
STEP 2 Dispute the errors
Carefully review your credit reports and financial statements to spot where you’ve been mistakenly reported as deceased. Any consumer deceased indicator should be treated seriously and disputed promptly. (Note any other errors, too!)
If you’re working with us, we’ll handle this process for you. If you’re not, file your disputes via certified mail to preserve all of your legal rights. (If you’re reported deceased by the Social Security Administration, there’s a more involved process. Call to learn more.)
STEP 3 Make them fix it
Believe it or not, sometimes proving you’re alive isn’t easy and may even involve refusals to fix the mistake. Don’t be shocked if they even say they’ve investigated and confirmed it’s right. This is a common outcome of shoddy internal investigations and does not meet their legal obligations to do the right thing. But a lawsuit usually gets the job done.
How A Credit Reporting Lawyer Helps
Correcting deceased reporting mistakes shouldn’t have to be a complicated and convoluted process, but it frequently is. Working with an experienced credit reporting lawyer gives you the best shot at fixing the problems for good and getting money for any harm to your life, finances, and mental wellbeing.
7 Things a Credit Reporting Lawyer Knows
- We know the law. We know the laws that protect you and how to go after these careless mega-corporations using every possible legal option available.
- We know the SSA. We know how to handle the process of disputing this credit reporting error with the Social Security Administration.
- We know the problems. We’ve seen, heard, and handled every type of credit reporting error, including being mistakenly reported as deceased, and put our full knowledge and resources into everything we do.
- We know the tricks. We know the tactics used by the credit bureaus to delay doing anything to fix credit reporting mistakes. They’d rather convince you it’s a lost cause. We know otherwise.
- We know how to guide you. We help you gather necessary data and evidence, craft and file legally sound disputes, and advise you of your rights and best practices along the way.
- We know how to file a lawsuit. If your deceased reporting error isn’t corrected or the fallout persists, we file a lawsuit to hold the credit reporting companies accountable.
- We know how to get you money. If you’ve been harmed by credit reporting errors and you’re entitled to compensation, we know how to maximize it.
Pro Tip! Don’t underestimate the peace of mind that comes from knowing that every next move is the right move toward recovery.
What is the Fair Credit Reporting Act?
Being mistakenly reported as deceased is consequence of a fast and furious data industry that depends largely on the ability of monstrously large corporations to gather, process, and report data for tens of millions of individuals on a rolling basis.
In the balance between speed and profit, accuracy is the first thing to go. And you pay the consequences. Because deceased reporting is part of a persistent, systemic problem, and because it causes genuine harm to consumers every single day, the federal government passed an important piece of legislation to protect you- the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
We rely heavily on the FCRA to build the best possible cases and get the best possible outcomes.
Your Rights Under the FCRA
When you’ve been mistakenly reported as deceased, this federal law gives you the right to
- review your credit reports for free
- know which data in a credit report was used to deny you an opportunity
- dispute credit report errors
- file lawsuits against the responsible parties
- seek compensation for harm suffered (or, in the case of deceased reporting, potentially seek compensation without having to prove harm)
- make the wrongdoers pay for your legal costs and fees
How to Dispute a Deceased Reporting Error
- Review all your accounts for mistakes, including credit reports, benefits, insurance, retirement, banking, store accounts, and social security. Your looking for instances of being mistakenly reported as deceased, but also any other mistakes.
- Gather any evidence and documentation you have to support your dispute. In this case, birth certificates, driver’s license, recent transactions, current bills, leases, etc. Anything that proves you’re alive.
- Dispute with the SSA. If the Social Security Administration is involved and your Social Security Number has been added to the Death Master File, you will need to report in person to your local SSA office with originals of your supporting documents to be issued a formal proof of life. Copies of this document should be included with any dispute sent to a consumer reporting agency or financial entity.
- Write a thorough and clear letter disputing the fact that you’ve been mistakenly reported as deceased.
- Mail your letter, along with copies of the supporting documents, via certified mail to the credit bureau or financial company reporting the errors. This preserves your rights and leaves an easily traceable trail. Avoid using online dispute platforms that make you waive your rights.
- Keep a copy of the letter and documents for your file.
- Track the days. They have 30 days to respond.
- Don’t give up. If they don’t respond, don’t investigate, don’t fix the errors, or claim that their investigation confirmed the bad data, you need a lawyer NOW.
How Fee-Shifting Works
One of the most important and least known facts about fighting deceased reporting errors is that you don’t have to pay out of pocket for legal help.
Under the FCRA, you are not expected to spend your own money or take on debt just to dispute credit reporting errors and demand corrections of your data. You didn’t create the problem, you shouldn’t have to pay to fix it. The law makes the companies who made the problem pay to fix it.
At Consumer Justice Law Firm, we respect this fee-shifting provision for the role it plays in our legal system. It is as an equalizer, bringing justice to everyone, including those who otherwise couldn’t afford to work with an attorney.
The law has cleverly carved out a way to center equity and fairness in legal representation for consumers harmed by being mistakenly reported as deceased (and other credit reporting errors).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I dispute deceased reporting with the Social Security Administration?
Yes, if necessary, but not every incidence of being mistakenly reported as deceased begins or ends with you showing up on the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File.
For instance, if you’re mistakenly reported as deceased by a single retail store and you catch and correct the error right away, you may not need to involve the SSA at all.
However, if that single incidence of deceased reporting cascades across your financial and credit profile, and causes a financial lockdown, the error may make its way to the SSA. If your Social Security number is mistakenly placed in the Death Master File, it’s a big problem.
As soon as you’re aware of being mistakenly reported as deceased, check your Social Security account to confirm that you’re still considered alive and well. If you are listed as deceased in the SSA’s Death Master File, the process for fixing this credit reporting error is not typically called “disputing” but rather obtaining a proof of life, which is used to dispute errors on consumer reports.
How long does it take to fix deceased reporting?
As long as it takes to get the consumer reporting agencies (credit bureaus and other companies) to correct their files.
In theory, it should only take about 30 days for a company to investigate a dispute and correct its errors. But, given the overall lack of incentive to complete adequate investigations and the general disregard for the consumer experience, it may take considerably longer.
Working with a credit reporting lawyer, such as the ones on our team at Consumer Justice Law Firm is the best way to expedite your timeline and optimize your outcome. We can’t give a guaranteed timeline for corrections, but you will be on track to get the corrections as soon as possible and potentially get money, too.