Reasons for mistakes on your credit report
Credit report errors occur for a number of reasons but they can all have a negative impact on your eligibility for any future credit. It's important to stay on top of your credit report to avoid any mistakes made by the creditors and credit bureaus —Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Some common reasons for credit report errors include: 

• The individual has applied for credit under several different names (i.e. John Doe and Jonathon Doe)
• Someone made a clerical error in entering or reading information (names, social security numbers, addresses, etc.) from a handwritten application.
• Mix ups with common names. For example, there is likely more than one John Smith living in New York City and often there is the chance that information intended for one John Smith might appear on another John Smith's credit report as he applies for a mortgage.
• The individual gave an inaccurate Social Security number or the number was misread by the creditor.
• Loan or credit card payments were inadvertently applied to the wrong account.

No matter what the reason, the erroneous information could reflect poorly on your credit file, thus causing approval problems when the time comes to apply for a job or obtain a mortgage. If you find errors, no matter how small, be sure you get them fixed, and make sure that you contact all three credit bureaus with your change.

Experts advise that you should examine your credit report regularly.  Beware of websites that offer a "free" credit report but require you to sign up for a service and pay a fee before you get your "free" one.  A website was established as a result of recent credit law changes which does offer your reports for free:  www.annualcreditreport.com.  You will not receive your scores from this site, but you will be able to check the accuracy of your accounts.

HINT:  This truly free website will allow you to access your credit report once per year at no charge.  Remember, there are three major credit repositories.  Try ordering a different one every 4 months!

1st Security Home Mortgage now offers credit restoration for our clients!  Please contact our office for more information.