Agency advises students to check on credit reports

By BETH LUCAS
Collegian Staff Writer

Recent studies say 25 percent of consumer credit reports have an error of some kind.

These errors, according to Intuit Inc., range from misspelled names to misdirected debt and could affect many credit situations, including job applications and car purchases.

"A credit report is just a list of references," said Maxine Sweet, vice president of consumer education for Experian Information Solutions Inc., a credit-reporting agency in California. "It is easy for businesses to use because it is automatic, with creditors routinely reporting about once every month."

Mistakes happen, she said, usually when an individual's report is first being entered into a credit-reporting bureau's database.

According to Experian's World Wide Web site (www.experian.com), mistakes also can happen when debt is transferred from one individual to another person with the same name or when social security numbers are entered incorrectly.

"The challenge is matching a report to the right person the first time correctly," she said. "Only rarely does a big mistake happen."

Sweet recommends students get a copy of their credit reports before making major transactions, such as buying a car or house.

"You want to get your credit report at least once to make sure it is correct," she said.

Businesses have the opportunity to see information about a consumer's applications for credit, existing account balances and payment patterns when accessing a credit report. Any false or negative information on a report can influence being approved for loans as well as employment.

Records of bad credit are retained even after full payments have been made. According to the Better Business Bureau of Western Pennsylvania, negative, but still correct, information stays on a credit file for seven years after payments are made.

Students who receive a credit card but do not use the account without canceling it often are assumed to be low on cash and therefore a high-risk investment, said John Lowe, assistant vice president at First Mortgage Corp., according to Intuit Inc.'s World Wide Web site (www.quicken.com).

Many students create records having high-risk appearances unknowingly by filling out applications for credit cards to get free promotional items and then destroying the cards.

"I always decline those stands with free stuff because it is such a big hassle," Adam Dean (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said.

If denied credit in the past 60 days, students can attain a copy of their credit reports for free at any credit-reporting bureau. If not denied credit, students can request a copy for a fee of about $8 unless they are unemployed, on welfare or if they believe themselves to have been the victim of fraud within 60 days of the request, according to Trans Union Corp.

"It is very frustrating when a mix-up occurs," Sweet said. "But most people aren't even aware of what a credit report does for them. It just happens."