Mixed Credit Reports

Fight Mixed Credit Reports with Credit Report Lawyers.

When you work hard to maintain a good credit score, only to lose out on opportunities because someone else’s bad credit data got mixed into your credit report, it’s enough to drive anyone mad.

Beyond the blatant unfairness of it all, these mistakes are also incredibly harmful. Mixed credit reports can tank your credit score, kill your loan and credit opportunities, and even damage your finances.

The single most important thing you need to know about mixed credit reports is that they’re not just unfair and damaging, they’re unlawful.

At Consumer Justice Law Firm, our credit report lawyers help make recovery from a mixed credit report easy. You don’t have to wait for peace of mind. You can be confident you’re in the right hands from the start.

What Is a Mixed Credit Report?

When your credit report contains information relating to someone else, it’s called a mixed credit report.

The type of data that can be unfairly mixed in with your data includes any of the data that typically gets included in a credit report, including:

  • personal data (names, birthdates, addresses, etc.)
  • social security numbers
  • rental and eviction data
  • loan and debt data
  • financial account and banking data
  • bankruptcy data
  • benefits data
  • medical debts
  • and more…

Mixed credit reports are a common cause of credit denials and other rejections, including personal loans, credit cards, mortgage loans, car loans, insurance offerings, and more.

Notably, sometimes someone else’s name and loan information actually belongs on your credit report- like when two people are co-signers on a loan or mortgage. As long as the name is correctly and legally affiliated with a debt that you hold, it is not necessarily a sign of a mixed credit report.

But when someone else’s data appears on your credit report for no rightful or legally justifiable reason, it is a mixed credit report and a violation of federal law.

Mixed credit reports are also referred to as co-mingled credit reports or mixed credit files.

For help with other consumer protection problems or to read about specific topics, check out our Practice Page and The Consumer Justice Blog.

What Causes Mixed Credit Reports?

Mixed credit reports are the result of a consumer data industry that puts profits over accuracy. Billions of dollars are made from the buying and selling of consumer data every year. The credit bureaus- Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax- are part of this industry.

The credit bureaus use algorithms to gather, sort, and report consumer data for nearly 200 million consumers annually, with very little human review

This automation draws in “hits” for data that is broadly similar. So, a shared birthdate or a similar name or similar social security number might be enough to mix the wrong data into your credit report.

Some common scenarios that trip up these automated systems and lead to mixed credit reports include:

  • Shared or similar names: Whether you’re strangers with similar names (like Michael Anthony Smith vs. Michael Allen Smith) or family members (like similarly named twins or Sr. and Jr.), names are a frequent cause of mixed credit reports.
  • Shared addresses: Roommates, family members, tenants who have rented the same place, and divorced couples can have entangled data.
  • Social Security numbers: this can be caused by clerical errors where digits are entered incorrectly, causing a mix up, or by similar SSNs, such as sibling numbers, etc.
  • Shared or similar birthdates: Whether you’re a multiple (twin, triplet, etc.) or just happen to share a birthdate with someone else who shares other vaguely similar data (like maybe they lived in the same state), this can be cause of mixed credit reports.
  • Outdated info: Whether outdated or incomplete, wrong identifying information can cause data mix ups.
Trail mix and mixed drinks contrast with a mixed credit report, which shouldn't be mixed.

How Mixed Credit Reports Harm You

Mixed credit reports can harm you in any of the following ways and more:

  • Credit Score Drop. All of your hard work maintaining a healthy credit score can end with a rapid and unfair drop.
  • Mortgage denials. You can be unjustly denied at any phase of the home-buying process, including after you’ve searched for and found the perfect house.
  • Rental denials. Whether you’re looking for a long-term rental for housing, a vacation rental for fun, or a car rental for commuting, you can be falsely flagged as a rental risk.
  • Car loan rejections. Even if you’ve saved for months, selected within your budget, and paid every single bill, loan, and debt on time, you can be unfairly turned down.
  • 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 bad data.
  • Credit denials. Home equity loans, personal loans, and lines of credit through a bank or lender can be denied without any fault of your own.
  • Store account refusals. If you apply for a store card or account with a favorite retail brand, you can be refused rather than rewarded.
  • Insurance denials. When you seek insurance or other financial products, a solid credit rating is usually critical, and you can be denied for falsely failing to meet the standard.
  • Worse loan terms. Even if you’re approved for a loan, inaccurate or misleading data can mean that you get stuck with worse interest rates and bad loan terms.
  • Added to the Death Master File. If you’re falsely reported as deceased, you can 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. From missing out on long-awaited opportunities to losing sleep due to worry or being plagued by anxiety, the toll these errors take is real.

3 Steps to Fight Mixed Credit Reports

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have significant rights to fight mixed credit reports. Taking these three steps will set you on the right path toward recovery.

STEP 1

Review Your Credit Reports Carefully. Whether you spot a single error or you were shocked to be denied for an opportunity, consider it the red flag that something is wrong in your credit reports.

Carefully review your credit reports from all three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). Go through line by line, highlighting any errors, including personal and financial details.

You have a right to receive and review a copy of your credit report at the time that it’s run. Or, you can access your credit reports for free at the verified site annualcreditreport.com.

STEP 2

Dispute Credit Report Errors. Dispute any inaccurate, misleading, false, or unreportable data. If you’re working with us, we’ll handle this process for you, including drafting legally sound dispute letters.

If you’re disputing on your own, clearly mark the errors and indicate that you suspect a mixed credit report. File your credit report disputes via certified mail to preserve all of your legal rights and create a paper trail.

Be sure to include copies of any supporting documentation with your dispute.

STEP 3

Talk to a credit report lawyer. As many consumer learn the hard way, the credit bureaus (and other consumer reporting agencies) frequently fail to meet their legal obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

They violate their FCRA obligations by creating mixed credit reports in the first place, but also by ignoring credit report disputes all together, failing to properly investigate disputes, failing to fix credit report errors, repeating errors even after acknowledging they should be fixed, and not sticking to their legally required timelines for investigations and corrections.

At any step in this process, getting a free consultation from a credit report lawyer is the best bet for a personalized recovery action plan.

What Does a Top Credit Report Lawyer Do for Mixed Credit Reports?

When fighting mixed credit report errors, a top credit report lawyer has the skill and experience to make all the difference in your experience of both the process and the outcome.

  1. We know the law. We know the laws that protect you and how to go after the careless mega-corporations using every possible legal option available.
  2. We know the problems. We’ve seen, heard, and handled every type of credit report error, including mixed credit reports, and put our full knowledge and resources into everything we do.
  3. We know the tricks. We know the tactics used by the credit bureaus to delay doing anything to fix mixed credit reports. They’d rather convince you it’s a lost cause. We know otherwise.
  4. We provide personalized legal guidance. 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.
  5. We know how to file a strategic lawsuit. If your errors aren’t corrected or the fallout persists, we file a lawsuit to hold the credit bureaus (and other companies) accountable.
  6. We know how to get you money. If you’ve been harmed by mixed credit reports and you’re entitled to compensation, we know how to maximize it.

What is the Fair Credit Reporting Act?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law passed to protect consumers from harmful reporting errors like mixed credit reports.

The FCRA applies to all consumer reporting agencies, which includes the credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion), background check companies, and other companies producing specialized consumer reports.

We rely heavily on the FCRA to build the best possible cases and get the best possible outcomes for you.

Your Rights Under the FCRA

The FCRA gives you the right to an accurate credit report. Here’s what it says:

“Whenever a consumer reporting agency prepares a consumer report it shall follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information concerning the individual about whom the report relates.”

In addition, it 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
  • make the wrongdoers pay for your legal costs and fees

In fact, the FCRA plays such a critical role in protecting consumers from credit report errors like mixed credit reports, the lawyers who help fight these mistakes are frequently called FCRA lawyers.

How to Dispute a Mixed Credit Report

  • Review your credit reports for mixed credit report data.
  • Gather any evidence and documentation you have to support your dispute.
  • Write a thorough and clear letter explaining exactly which information in your credit report is wrong and why.
  • Mail your letter, along with copies of the supporting documents, via certified mail to the credit bureau reporting the errors. This preserves your rights and leaves an easily traceable trail. Avoid using online dispute platforms that require you to waive your legal rights.
  • Keep a copy of the letter and documents for your file, along with the mail receipts.
  • 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.

If you work with Consumer Justice Law Firm, the answer to this is simple- It costs you nothing out of pocket to work with a top credit report lawyer.

From your FREE consultation all the way through to the resolution of your claim, whether it involves disputes, lawsuits, or anything else, you don’t pay us a dime up front or out of pocket.

The companies we sue pay our legal bills when we win.

No Justice, No Fee.TM

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I dispute a mixed credit report without an attorney?

Absolutely, yes. Every consumer reporting agency has multiple ways for you to dispute information in a credit report. You can usually choose among phone numbers, mailing addresses, and online dispute forms. We recommend skipping the phone calls and online forms and filing your dispute through certified mail.

If any of these situations happen after you dispute the mixed credit report, you’ll want to work with a lawyer: 1. your dispute is ignored, delayed, or improperly investigated; 2. you’re told that your mixed credit file is correct as it is; 3. your mixed credit report is fixed temporarily but the errors return.

Also, keep in mind that you can reach out to a credit report lawyer at any point in the process. It is not an all or none scenario. We’re always available to help- whether it’s personalized legal guidance from the beginning, or we step in at another point along the way.

How long does it take to fix a mixed credit file?

Far longer than it should!

Consumer reporting agencies typically have 30 days to investigate and respond to consumer disputes. So, in theory, it should take approximately 30 days to fix mixed credit files.

But, as you might suspect, the same companies that carelessly churn out mixed credit reports in the first place are usually not super on the ball about fixing them.

If you choose to work with us, we won’t be able to guarantee a timeline for corrections, but you will have the security of knowing that you are actually on track to get corrections and potentially even get money for the harm you suffered, too.

FREE consultations! We only get paid when we win. No Justice, No Fee.TM