Did you know this about credit reports?

Happy 2011 to everyone! Hope it was safe and that you have made a full recovery! 2011 could be the year that your credit can make a recovery as well. I'm going to give you a few fun facts, things you may have already known, but little reminders are always good. First, you need to know that 79% of credit reports contain an error of some sort. I've told you this before, but one of my hockey buds has a situation. In this case, he has great credit which is always good. Always makes payments, doesn't carry a lot of debt. Just like me, he and his dad have the exact same name. Those big bureaus don't always recognize this and will at times cross credit items on either one of your reports. You might be saying if my Dad makes payments, and it's my Dad who cares? Here is one major thing, if your Dad makes some good money there is a chance he's going to have a larger mortgage with a larger payment. If you're not making as good money, it will mess you up when you try and get a home, or a car, almost anything. It's called debt to income, and it's very important to an underwritter. This is where that 79% of all credit reports contain an error comes into play. This is same thing has happened to me as well, so that 8 out of 10, or 80 out of 100 and so on can be damaging. Not always to your score but to your DEBT RATIO! This can be fixed, but it's not a simple phone call or a click of the computer. Just doesn't work that way, it can take months! So I would be checking your credit at least once every six months if not more. Lastly, and the most scary is 1 out of every 4 credit reports have a serious enough error to deny credit. That error could be from someone that has your same name, it does happen or if it's similar to your name. Credit reports will kick out a list of names you've used to apply for credit. They keep that information, so if you used a version of your name in college or something or if you got married it can happen and it does to 25% of you. Again, checking your credit is VERY IMPORTANT! Don't let this cold freeze also freeze your credit and stop you from making an important purchase. If you have questions or concerns I'm always around, enjoy 2011!