Errors on your credit reports can derail your finances, and sometimes prevent you from obtaining the credit you may need. By checking your credit reports regularly with the three main bureaus — Transunion, Experian and Equifax — you can make sure negative entries and inaccurate listings don’t stand in your way of getting the car loan, mortgage, job or apartment you deserve. Take these steps to work towards your financial freedom.
TRUE STORY from Flitter Milz
Our client purchased a new car after trading in his old car. The finance company failed to report to the credit bureaus that his old car loan was paid in full, and reported him late for several months. The credit bureaus refused to correct their reporting, despite the client’s dispute letters. After hiring Flitter Milz to help sue the credit bureaus. The credit bureaus paid a confidential settlement for slandering his credit.
Step 1: Write for your credit reports
Request a current report from each of the three main credit bureaus –Transunion, Experian, and Equifax. You will need to enclose two forms of identification, such as a current driver’s license and utility bill, with your letter. CLICK HERE: Obtain credit reports from Transunion, Experian and Equifax.
Step 2: Identify problems on your report
Credit reports show the history of credit accounts and illustrate whether a consumer is a good credit risk. Consumers must review their reports for accuracy and take steps to correct inaccurate information. Common credit reporting problems are:
- Mixed Files
Someone else’s information on your report. For example, family members or people with similar names could be mixed with your file. CLICK HERE: Is your Credit Report mixed with someone else’s information?
- Ex-spouse’s information
It’s a common misperception that a divorce decree changes contracts with lenders. Actually, the divorce decree is only an agreement between you and the court. After divorce if an ex-spouse’s information is listed on your credit accounts, you must write the creditor to have his or her name removed.
CLICK HERE: How to maintain good credit during divorce.
- Incorrect notations for Closed Accounts
A closed account on your credit report is an account that is no longer active, meaning it was either closed upon your request or automatically closed by the creditor. The effect of a closed account on your credit report may differ depending on the account standing. An account in positive standing won’t have any negative payment history. Should an account appear to be closed by the creditor when you closed it, this notation could carry negative weight on your credit report and the notation must be corrected.
- Public Record Errors
Judgments, tax liens, bankruptcies, and lawsuits must be listed accurately on credit reports. If a public record is listed incorrectly, or does not belong to you, a dispute letter must be sent to the credit bureau with documents that explain the error.
- Bankruptcy listings
Accounts discharged in bankruptcy need to be identified correctly on your credit report as “discharged in bankruptcy”. In some cases, a bankruptcy can appear on your report because of mistaken identity, identity theft, administrative mistakes, or a completely random error.
- Identity Theft
Accounts opened fraudulently in your name or used without your authorization could appear on your credit reports. Specific steps to stop the theft need to be taken. CLICK HERE: What to do if your Identity is Stolen
- Strange Inquiries
You must provide permission for someone to access your credit report. If there are entries you do not recognize, letters must be sent to the credit bureau to request who obtained your report and for what reason.
- Obsolete Information
In most cases, a credit reporting agency may not report negative information that is more than 7 years old, or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old. When outdated information is listed on credit reports, a dispute letter must be sent to the credit bureau with documents that support your request for the information to be corrected.
- Errors
Incorrect payment histories, payment status, closed accounts, etc. must be listed accurately. When credit reports list incorrect information, written disputes must be submitted to the bureaus with documents that support your dispute and illustrate why the error is to be corrected. CLICK HERE: Learn how to read a credit report
Step 3: Have a No Cost Legal Review
Flitter Milz attorneys are nationally recognized consumer protection lawyers with the experience to evaluate your credit reporting problems.
To provide a no cost legal evaluation, we will request that you provide a current copy of your report from each of the three main bureaus — Transunion, Experian, and Equifax, plus documents that illustrate why the information must be corrected. If it appears that you have a valid problem, we may request that you send disputes to the credit bureaus and/or credit furnishers in an attempt to get the problem corrected. Should the error remain, there may be a violation to your consumer rights.
CLICK HERE: Learn to Dispute Credit Report Errors Effectively
Flitter Milz Attorneys (pictured above):
Cary Flitter (center), Andy Milz (left), Jody López-Jacobs (right).
Maybe you aren’t completely sold on solar panels, and simply want more information about switching to solar power. Beware. At this point of the presentation, the salesperson may casually suggest that you submit an application, just to see whether or not you qualify for solar panels. You’ll be offered an iPad or tablet to sign, and be told not to worry because you’ll receive copies of all documents by email.
Placing your signature or initials on an iPad, tablet, or phone may seem easy. However, your electronic signature or initials may be copied and affixed to a contract or other forms that you did not intend.
Solar companies rely on financing to make solar panels available to consumers. Credit reports are accessed to evaluate a potential customer’s creditworthiness. The consumer must provide written permission for the solar company to obtain these reports.
Solar panels will be free.
Many times, the solar panel company may not want to sell you the panels. If you, the buyer, purchases the panels, you would receive the tax credit, not the solar company. If the solar company leases you panels and only promises to sell you the solar power, the solar sales company may receive the tax credit, not you, the homeowner.
Your Neighbors Are Doing It!
Flitter Milz is a nationally recognized consumer protection law firm that evaluates solar panel sales matters for potential violation of the consumer protection laws involving fraud, such as forged contracts, identity theft and credit reporting privacy violations. 
The jury verdict will compensate a group of 19 plaintiffs whose consumer protection rights were violated by repeated misrepresentations throughout FantaSea Resort’s routine, deceptive sales practices. The jury agreed that FantaSea’s tactics left consumers with timeshare purchases they couldn’t use as described, with payments and rising maintenance fees they couldn’t escape.
In trial, FantaSea Resorts admitted to making knowingly false statements to lure potential buyers into binding timeshare sales agreements through a sales process that violated the New Jersey Real Estate Timeshare Act (RETA). According to court documents, FantaSea intentionally withheld important sales documents from the buyers until after they had completed the transaction, contrary to what they are legally required to do.
What’s more, FantaSea’s timeshare sales were rigged so that timeshare owners would routinely pay more for a vacation stay than non-owners, according to court documents. In one case, over the length of the plaintiff’s 10-year mortgage, she would pay more than 
Flitter Milz, PC, with offices in PA, NJ, and NY, is a nationally recognized leader in consumer protection law, with over 30 years’ experience in the field. The firm represents victims of finance fraud, illegal vehicle repossessions, unfair debt collection practices, credit report errors, civil rights abuses, and other consumer protection matters in individual and class action cases. Pictured: Cary Flitter (center), Andy Milz (left), Jody López-Jacobs (right).
All it takes is someone with the same or similar name, birthdate, address, or other matching identifying information to have a stranger’s record inaccurately mixed with yours. Their DUI, their theft conviction, or their sex offence can then show up on YOUR report. It’s no surprise then that bad background checks for employment, rent, or security clearance can ruin someone’s livelihood and reputation in an instant.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently published an advisory warning that 
More than 90% of prospective employers, landlords, insurance companies and banks use background check data as part of their application process. These companies must have a legally permissible purpose to obtain a copy of a consumer’s background report when evaluating the consumer for credit, insurance, housing, or employment decisions. The consumer is entitled to a copy of the background check report used to evaluate his or her application.
Background reports include information such as, employment history, credit information and legal problems. In some cases, social media accounts may show up. The more data listed in a background check could mean a greater possibility for error. As a result, the consumer could be denied a job, housing, insurance or credit. Just one error on a background report can cause significant harm. Procedures for maintaining and dispensing accurate information are critical. Background reports must ensure proper identification of the applicant, plus accurate data related to the applicant. Disclaimers by background reporting companies do not cure permissible violations. Instead, they could violate a person’s privacy, which is strictly prohibited under the FCRA.
When a background check is required, the prospective employer or landlord must obtain written permission from the applicant to request a report. A Disclosure Notice and Authorization form must be filled out and signed by the applicant, then submitted to the background check company. Most authorization forms require the applicant’s full name, date of birth, social security number, current zip code, phone number and email address. Screening for some types of employment may require additional information, such as motor vehicle reports, employment verifications or international criminal checks.
Credit reports must be kept accurate.
The website, annualcreditreport.com, is the quickest way to access reports. By writing to the three main credit bureaus – Transunion, Experian and Equifax — to 
After reviewing your credit report for accuracy, if there are errors listed you may need to write to the lender, creditor, collection agency or other type of data furnisher to request updated information on your account. Obtaining verification of your account status from these companies can provide useful evidence when your dispute is investigated by the credit bureau and evaluated for accuracy.
Although the credit bureaus accept disputes online and by phone, consumers must be cautious. These methods of disputing could present problems.
Dispute letters should be sent to the credit bureaus by Certified Mail, Return Receipt. Be sure to keep a copy of the dispute letter and all supporting documents enclosed with your letter, along with all mailing receipts from the post office.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act 
Consumer credit is when credit is advanced to a consumer for the purchase of personal or household goods or services. The system for extension of credit allows consumers to borrow money, or incur debt, and to defer repayment of that money over time.
Having 
Consumers may explore options to finance the purchase by contacting banks, credit unions and financial institutions. The terms for borrowing money may vary from one lender to another. After submission of a credit application, lenders take steps to evaluate the borrower’s creditworthiness. Typically, a credit application triggers a 
Borrowers must be prepared for the lender to approve or 
A credit reference is one of the methods lenders and service providers use to determine a borrower’s creditworthiness. Credit references can include your bank, previous landlords, employers, or companies whose bills you’ve paid regularly. Depending on the type of application, it is best to submit the best reference for the situation. Typically, this person or company would improve the borrower’s chances for approval for the type of loan that is sought. 
A car purchase is one of the most exciting purchases a consumer makes. But let’s face it, cars are expensive and you have to figure out how to pay for them.
Before visiting the dealership, consumers must review their finances and evaluate payment options. Informed buyers allow for making the best car buying decisions. Car salespeople are known to pressure potential buyers in to selecting vehicles from their lot — often ones the consumer may not want or be able to afford.
the consumer’s credit accounts, including balances and payment history. When reports reflect incorrect information, lenders may deny applications for credit.
institutions review the consumer’s credit reports and scores in the process of determining whether to extend credit or not. Various factors are considered in the evaluation process:
Shop for the Financing
In online complaints, Titan Solar has been accused of engaging in predatory marketing and of misrepresenting facts. Sometimes, Titan Solar is accused of not informing the customer that installation is conditioned upon agreeing to a decades-long loan or power purchase agreement, and the contract might be hidden from the consumer. Titan Solar’s finance company partner may also pull your 
Lenders evaluate the number of hard inquiries that appear on a consumer’s credit reports during the credit application review process. Although hard inquiries represent one factor in the calculation of credit scores, too many hard inquiries in a short time could impact scores negatively and jeopardize the approval of a new credit application.
Andy Milz is a contributing author to REPOSSESSION, National Consumer Law Center (10th ed. 2022) Carolyn Carter, Andrew Milz, et. al., considered the leading 
Flitter Milz was presented with the Equal Justice Award in recognition of support to legal aid programs that allow low-income consumers to seek economic justice.
Cary Flitter was honored in May 2022 at the Fête 4 Justice hosted by Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania for his continued support of their mission to provide free civil legal aid to low-income consumers in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties which surround Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia Legal Assistance — Jubilee for Justice
Flitter Milz represents people in individual and class action lawsuits with legal problems involving consumer credit transactions. Our attorneys evaluate whether a consumer’s rights have been violated — at no cost to the consumer — in matters related to credit reporting accuracy and privacy violations, wrongful vehicle repossessions, abuse from debt collectors, and consumer frauds, such as solar panel sales fraud. 
