Page 75 - Winning The Credit Game Bundle (CK Patrick)

DISPUTING ERRORS 63

Using a phone’s wifi hotspot to surf the Internet may eat into your
phone’s data plan, but when you must transmit data that could be
used to commit identity theft in a public place, it’s worth the cost in
data.

SIMILAR NAME ERRORS

Another common cause of credit report errors is quite simply when
two people have similar names. This is more likely when you have a
Junior and a Senior in the same family who have the same first and last
name, or when you have a very common name like John Smith. In
these cases, credit bureaus and creditors alike may get confused and
put charges or late payments on the wrong John Smith’s account.
Unfortunately this is difficult to avoid, since you don’t generally
choose your own name at birth. But it may be a factor to consider
when considering whether to give a baby exactly the same first and
last name as another living person. Most John Smiths will be fortunate
enough to get through life without such an error, but if it does happen
it can be a real headache to resolve.

DISPUTING ERRORS

If you notice an error on a bill or on your credit report, you will have to
dispute it. Today, most companies, including credit bureaus, have a
simple button you can press to report a fraudulent charge or dispute
an item on your credit report. This is a good first step. However, unfor-
tunately this does not always solve the problem.
When a company rejects your claim of a fraudulent charge or an
error on your credit report, you will likely have to resort to sending a
lengthy campaign of letters using specific language and dispute tactics
to try to get the item removed.
You send letters because you want all of this in writing so that the
courts can see that this is a mistake and you have been trying to
resolve it; you use specific credit compliance language so that the e-
Oscar system can work to your benefit and creditors you are disputing